


Living Legend : Book 1 : The Frakkan Mission

by CassEastham



Series: Living Legend [1]
Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Battle, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Female Character In Command, Female Protagonist, Jedi, Jedi Training, Military, Original Character(s), Post-Return of the Jedi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2018-04-27 01:01:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 44
Words: 76,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5027650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CassEastham/pseuds/CassEastham
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><strong>Book 1: The Frakkan Mission</strong><br/>Kess Lendra is a regular rebel grunt until her brother finds a photo of grandfather with a lightsaber. When asked for help to design a dud lightsaber, she mails Skywalker for help. Next thing she knows, she's on a treaty mission with a Wookiee she doesn't understand, a Captain that doesn't like her and a Jedi playing tricks to learn if she's really Force-sensitive or not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. LL1 Summary and LL1 Ch 01 Eight Years ABY

## LL1 Summary and Music

**Living Legend : Book 1 : The Frakkan Mission**

Kess Lendra is a regular rebel grunt until her brother finds an old photo of grandpa with a lightsaber. When asked to design a dud lightsaber, she mails the living legend for help. Next thing she knows, she's on a treaty mission with a Wookiee she doesn't understand, a Captain that doesn't like her, and a Jedi playing tricks to learn if she's really Force-sensitive or not.

 **Rating / Genre** : PG-13. Sexual suggestion. Brief violence. Alcohol usage. Drama/Romance with Action/Military throughout.

 **Dramatis Personae :** Primary **:** Luke Skywalker, and OC Kess Lendra. Secondary : Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, Wedge Antilles, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, Threepio, Artoo, Mon Mothma, the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and many more.

 **Length:**   LL1 // Chapters 43 // Word count 75.4K words

(Whole Trilogy // Total word count: 250K)

**Disclaimer :**

_Star Wars_ and its jargon herein are copyrighted and belong to the Lord Lucas and/or Emperor Disney. _OrCad_ is a schematic program and copyrighted by Cadence Design Systems.

* * *

 

**Music:**

(Posted by fan request.)

Ignore the images, but find these tunes on YouTube and listen while reading the associated chapter(s). (I trust y’all have access to the plethora of Star Wars soundtracks for the rest.)

LL1 Ch 25 —The Beach (e.g. Scenes Jedi training on the Frakkan System) — Berengia by Scott Fitzgerald on YouTube as “Panther Beach TEST”

LL2 Ch 07 — Jedi Training Grounds (e.g. Scenes in the Clearing) — Trip to Skye - Darach De Brun’s by Eileen Ivers; John Whelan on The Celts Rise Again.

LL2 Ch 15 — Rogue Group Grounded (e.g. Scenes of X-Wing repair) — Close to the Edit by The Art of Noise

LL2 Ch 20 — Dud Lightsabers  (e.g. Jedi at play) — Calliope House The Cowboy Jig by Alasdair Fraser & Paul Machlis on Celtic Odyssey

LL2 Ch 23 — It was a Mistake (e.g. Kess loses her patience) —Waiting Game by Banks

LL2 Ch 37 — Never Trust a Jedi (e.g. I quit) — Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos (the song, not the whole album)

LL3 Ch 07 — Speeder Bike Ride (e.g. Scenes in Mos Eisley) — Storms in Africa by Enya on Watermark

LL3 Ch 21 — Command Center Study (e.g. Preparing for the Battle) — Pax Deorum by Enya on The Memory of Trees

LL3 Ch 42 — Goodbye — Exile by Enya

Enjoy.

* * *

 

**LL1 Ch 01 Eight Years After the Battle of Yavin**

Luke gave up . . . for today, anyway.

He grabbed the remote out of the humid air and turned it off with his thumb. His lightsaber shrunk back into its hilt a moment later. He tossed the remote into his open duffel bag on the ground two metres away. After looking at it a moment, he threw the hilt down onto the duffel with it.

Luke set his hands on his hips and huffed. The jungle trees dripped with the recent rain and the base was so far away that he could only hear an occasional fighter zipping overhead. He wandered back to the fallen log and slumped down on it. Staring at the air, he fished a can of water out of his bag and took a thoughtful slug.

Then he took another.

And then threw his head back and poured the beautiful liquid to splash all over his sweating face.

It gave him a momentary grin to feel the free-dripping water, but while he screwed the cap back on, his eyes fell again to that somber stare.

The Commander of Rogue Group was dog tired from the recovery of their last fiasco. The Last Jedi Knight was under immense pressure to start duplicating his skill onto other people. And Luke, plain old farm boy Luke, well, he just kept his mouth shut and stewed in an intangible melancholy over it all.

He let out a fast sigh and threw the bottle down again. _No time for self-pity._ _It's time to train somebody._

He eyed the hilt where it fell in his bag.

_To train somebody, first I have to **find** somebody._

He shook his head at the jungle clearing, thinking long and hard before admitting the words aloud. "I don't even know where to start."

_Where are you **supposed** to start?_

Luke grinned at his own subconscious voice. He swiped his palm over his face and settled down on the ground, using the fallen log as a backrest. He crossed his feet out in front of him, crossed his arms at his chest, and settled himself into a deep meditation.

Worries lost weight. Loneliness listed aside. Pressures peeled away from his thoughts. His mind settled into the most comfortable place he knew. Luke dropped his head against the log and let himself enjoy it.

The lights in his eyelids began to change, orange, then yellow, shapes moving, walls of stone, pale fighters, army green uniforms . . .

Luke opened his mind, alert.

The vision opened up to a squadron of fighters, right here on Yavin Base. He recognized the pie shape of a stone landing pad. These were Y-wings with yellow markings. Gold Group. A dozen jumpsuits milled about, but the vision zoomed in on a particular figure. A repair engineer stood on a footstool under the nose of a Y-wing. Arms, head, and shoulders dug up into the Y-wing's chin as far as the body could reach. Grease smudged the green coveralls. Tools bulged out of various pockets. Combat boots hadn't seen shoe polish in weeks. Short. Skinny.

 _Is this a potential apprentice?_ Luke questioned in his mind.

 _"Pay attention,"_ Obi-Wan's voice scolded back.

Luke focused on the man as he fumbled with the Y-wing, apparently not doing so well. A socket wrench fell out of the same hole in which the head was immersed. It clattered onto the concrete floor. Cussing erupted from inside the machine.

Luke lifted an eyebrow.

The body ducked to reach for the tool and a face emerged. Blond hair knotted in braids behind her head. Any makeup she may have worn was long rubbed away by work. Black engine grease smudged her temple like battle damage. Brown eyes glared at the socket wrench as though the tool tried to escape the woman on purpose.

Luke lifted the other eyebrow.

She hopped off the footstool to snatch the wrench from the floor and stomped back up, shoving her body into the Y-wing again. "You wanna fight me on this?" She hissed at the craft. "You are _not_ going to win. You don't get to go out and play until you let me _have that flange_!"

Luke smirked.

 _"Her name is Kesselia Lendra,"_ Obi-Wan's voice said from the nether. _"Be careful with her."_

 


	2. LL1 1 Eight Years ABY

** LL1 1: 8 ABY **

Luke gave up... for today anyway. He grabbed the remote out of the humid air and turned it off with his thumb. His lightsaber shrunk back into its hilt a moment later. He tossed the remote into his open duffel bag on the ground two metres away. After looking at it a moment, he threw the hilt down onto the duffel with it.

Luke set his hands on his hips and huffed. The jungle trees dripped with the recent rain and the base was so far away that he could only hear an occasional fighter zipping overhead. He wandered back to the fallen log and slumped down on it. Staring at the air, he fished a can of water out of his bag and took a thoughtful slug.

Then he took another.

And then threw his head back and poured the beautiful liquid to splash all over his sweating face.

It gave him a momentary grin to feel the free-dripping water, but while he screwed the cap back on, his eyes fell again to that somber stare.

The Commander of Rogue Group was dog tired from the recovery of their last fiasco. The Last Jedi Knight was under immense pressure to start duplicating his skill onto other people. And Luke, plain old farm boy Luke, well, he just kept his mouth shut and stewed in an intangible melancholy over it all.

He let out a fast sigh and threw the bottle down again. _No time for self-pity._ _It's time to train somebody._

He eyed the hilt where it fell in his bag.

_To train somebody, first I have to **find** somebody.            _

He shook his head at the jungle clearing, thinking long and hard before admitting the words aloud. "I don't even know where to start."

_Where are you **supposed** to start?          _

Luke grinned at his own subconscious voice. He swiped his palm over his face and settled down on the ground, using the fallen log as a backrest. He crossed his feet out in front of him, crossed his arms at his chest, and settled himself into a deep meditation.

Worries lost weight. Loneliness listed aside. Pressures peeled away from his thoughts. His mind settled into the most comfortable place he knew. Luke dropped his head against the log and let himself enjoy it.

The lights in his eyelids began to change, orange, then yellow, shapes moving, walls of stone, pale fighters, army green uniforms...

Luke opened his mind, alert.

The vision opened up to a squadron of fighters, right here on Yavin Base. He recognized the pie shape of a stone landing pad. These were Y-wings with yellow markings. Gold Group. A dozen jumpsuits milled about, but the vision zoomed in on a particular figure. A repair engineer stood on a footstool under the nose of a Y-wing. Arms, head, and shoulders dug up into the Y-wing's chin as far as the body could reach. Grease smudged the green coveralls. Tools bulged out of various pockets. Combat boots hadn't seen shoe polish in weeks. Short. Skinny.

_Is this a potential apprentice?_ Luke questioned in his mind.

_"Pay attention,"_ Obi-Wan's voice scolded back.

Luke focused on the man as he fumbled with the Y-wing, apparently not doing so well. A socket wrench fell out of the same hole in which the head was immersed. It clattered onto the concrete floor. Cussing erupted from inside the machine.

Luke lifted an eyebrow.

The body ducked to reach for the tool and a face emerged. Blond hair knotted in braids behind her head. Any makeup she may have worn was long rubbed away by work. Black engine grease smudged her temple like battle damage. Brown eyes glared at the socket wrench as though the tool tried to escape the woman on purpose.

Luke lifted the other eyebrow.

She hopped off the footstool to snatch the wrench from the floor and stomped back up, shoving her body into the Y-wing again. "You wanna fight me on this?" She hissed at the craft. "You are _not_ going to win. You don't get to go out and play until you let me _have that flange_!"

Luke smirked.

_"Her name is Kesselia Lendra,"_ Obi-Wan's voice said from the nether. _"Be careful with her."_

 

 

 

 

 


	3. LL1 2 Fencing Class

Lieutenant Kess K. Lendra sat on the cold, cement floor hunched over a gutted ion cannon from a BTL-A4, otherwise known as a Y-wing, or at this point, a 'piece of junk'. She huffed helpless at the datapad in her hand and blew up at her bangs. After reviewing the array of dismembered pieces on the floor, she cleared her head and decided to start from scratch.

Kess dropped her datapad to the floor and faced the tall vessel, resolving not to lose the battle against this stubborn piece of equipment. She hopped up the ladder and climbed atop the shoulders of Gold Group's Problem Child. Huffing up at her bangs one more time, she straddled the wide canopy, and bent her body into the guts of the cannon's empty housing.

"Why are you still here?" Shorkey's voice crooned from the ground.

Kess looked up from the gaping hole and peered at her boss.

Shorkey's old eyes shined as his tone melted to deceit. "Are you available for a repair-in-air?"

Kess shrugged at him and pushed a wisp of hair behind her ear. "First question, why wouldn't I be here?" She rose beside the canopy, standing on the Y-wing's neck. "Second question, I'll take any vacation away from Mosquito Post as long as you don't send me back to Hoth. Toss up the pliers."

Shorkey picked up the tool from the floor and stepped to the craft to hand them up. "How are you with Corellians?"

"Depends. Are you talking about the ships? Or the people?" Kess sat down, let her feet hang off the side of the Y-wing neck, and gave him a real answer. "Depends on what's wrong with it."

Shorkey stepped back, dropping his eyes to the floor. "Everything."

"You're not much on details, are you, LT?" She met his eyes and found them smiling back. She faked a groan. "What kind of project are you sending me on?"

He cocked his head and changed the subject. "Why aren't you at your class this afternoon?"

Kess's eyes went wide. "It's Centaxday?"

"And it's about 16:22."

"Blast!" She hopped down the ladder and threw the pliers to the floor. "See you tomorrow!" Kess raced full speed out to the pad core.

Ten pads surrounded the core. The landing complex was a large hexagon filled with diners and service shops. Encircling it was a massive travel way where personnel on foot could travel from one pie-shaped pad to the next. The travel way was crowded so soon after knock-off. Kess darted through the milling bodies to make it out of the pad complex as fast as she could. She spotted a runner and raced to catch up with it. She was panting for breath when she jumped on the vehicle to ride it out to the street.

Thank the Force class wasn't far from work. This wasn't the first time she was late, so she had the rush routine worked out already. The street between the pad complexes was packed with speeders and pedestrians so she ran to the side of the looming stone building and moved between it and its exact replica next door. Now, with only an empty alley between her and the next block, Kess bolted passed the complex, running as hard as her untrained lungs would let her. She liked to imagine herself as a superhero racing to the scene to save the day, but Kess slowed to a jog and was gasping for air by the time she reached the next block.

_So much for being a superhero._

She crossed the street while glancing for traffic. She was still gulping down air when she walked off the base. Being late all the time was giving her more exercise than she liked, but then, good old Lokey probably thought the extra exercise was worth her being late.

She could hear his voice warbling through the thin wall as she pushed open the back door. In seconds, she shed the army green jumpsuit and the gray, fencing sensor suit was in its place. Carrying her helmet in one hand and the snubbed, useless sword in the other, she shyly poked through the door that led into fencing class.

A pair was already on the mats and dueling. Kess slunk over to the bench and sat down next to another silver-clad student. Lokey spotted her but didn't reprimand her tardiness. Lokey rarely got on her case for being late, but _she_ was paying _him_ for the class to begin with.

As she watched the duel, she noticed something out of place. There was one more silver-suited swordsman than usual. Lokey must have registered an additional student, which meant the seventh sword fighter, whoever it was, was going to have to sit it out when Lokey paired them up for an exercise. Trying to determine which body was the new guy, (a hard task when they were all dressed the same from head covering helmet to boot covering sheath) the buzzer rang out.

One of the swordsmen stepped back and caught his balance. He saluted the winner and stepped off the mat. Lokey clapped his hands and called out to the class, "Okay, pair up! Lot, you pair up with Rett."

Rett was Kess's partner.

"Nice of you to join us, Lendra." Lokey's tone dipped with scolding. "Come here."

Kess pulled off her helmet and strolled off the mat to her teacher. The fencers paired up and moved to the mats in a small herd. Three duels began. Kess waited and watched.

"So Kess," Lokey finally said, turning to her. "Remember the other day? We were talking about bringing in a two-handed sword division?"

"Sure."

"I was thinking that we could make them lightsabers." Lokey cocked a brow at her.

A smile splashed across her face. "You gonna buy a medical droid to sew everyone's arms back on too?"

Lokey's ancient eyes smiled. "I was hoping we could design a lightsaber that didn't slice off arms, but I don't know anything about fine electronics and, since you're the only engineer in class . . . " He eyed her with a pleading glint.

Kess considered this.

"I'll pay you for it," he added quickly. "I want a blade that stings but doesn't cut through mass. Can you do that?"

Kess tried to think of what circuitry created the blade realized how little she knew about them. "I have no idea. I don't know anything about lightsabers, Lokey." She shook her head. "And designing a lightsaber from scratch would be just as difficult as getting a real one to configure."

Lokey shuffled his feet and angled his head at her the other way. "Doesn't Jedi Skywalker still command Rogue Group?"

Kess grinned like the civilian had lost his mind. "Heh. Need to Know."

He choked on that, "He's on the news channels on a weekly basis, so I know he's around here somewhere. He should have a military message box, right?"

As her smile grew to envelop the total insanity of his idea. Kess's head rolled around in a circle until she was shaking her head again. "No way in a black hole, Lokey!"

"Why not?"

Kess acted out her phony request to an imaginary figure. "Excuse me, Commander, may I borrow your lightsaber for a couple of days? I want to make more of them." When she stopped, she looked back at him and laughed. "There is no way he's gonna give it to me!" She laughed louder, "I probably won't even be able to get the request up through his entourage of assistants for him to get the _chance_ to say 'no'!"

"You don't need to borrow the thing, just get a copy of the schematic from him."

Kess rolled her eyes again and huffed out at the classroom.

"Look," Lokey gestured a shrug. "The worst he can do is say 'no'. I'll give you a month of class for free even if you _can't_ make it work. I'll _pay_ you if you can."

Kess's smile faded. She sighed again, looked at the floor, and flicked her eyes back up at Lokey.

"Just try, will you? You're active duty and you've got Jedi history. You'd have a better chance of getting the schematic from him than I would."

Kess turned her feet to leave, "I'll think about it."

_  
_

 


	4. LL1 3 Respectful Request

"Hey girly," Yana chirped as Kess came into the barracks room. "We need your market list." She shoved a datapad into Kess's hand and her brown ponytail bounced in the air behind her as she moved. "And you've got a message on the comm."

Kess strolled in and unzipped her dirty coveralls. She greeted both roommates apathetically and focused on the list.

Joanne's black eyes didn't pull away from the NewsNet report on the vid. She greeted Kess merely by toasting a chip in the air and talked through her munching. "Check it out, Kess. Your man is on the news again."

Kess looked over Joanne's head to the vid, zeroing in on the black-uniformed figure with a lightsaber on his belt. The report was about a successful treaty bringing yet another system peacefully into the fold of the Alliance.

"My 'man'? I've never even met the man." Kess bopped Joanne on the top of the head with the datapad and tossed it on the couch beside her friend.

Joanne crooned her neck to look upside down at Kess. "And whose fault is that?"

Kess gave her a look like she was crazy and pulled the coveralls from her shoulders to shed it entirely. "When did I ever get a chance to meet Skywalker?"

"He's all over the rotting base. I just walked by him in the Council Building yesterday," Joanne squeaked. "It's not like you can't wander into the complex next door and conveniently eat lunch at the caf outside Rogue Group."

"And then what?" Kess laughed, swiveling around on the comm desk chair. "Ask him for his autograph?"

Joanne crunched on more snacks. "I'm sure Kayla's got ideas for a good pick up line."

Yana muttered a wiser suggestion. "Or you could just ask him about this last treaty."

Kess grumbled as she turned to the comm and checked her message. "I've got my eye other things besides the man's politics."

Joanne dropped her head on the back of the couch. "D'you hear that, Yana? She admits it!"

Yana glanced over from her work with a sparkle in her eye. "I heard it," she assured maturely.

The message was from Nik wanting her to comm no matter how late it was. Kess hadn't spoken to her brother in months but that wasn't unusual. The request for her to comm back in what was likely the middle of the night for him gave Kess reason to worry.

Kess only half-glanced back at her roommates. It was a good thing Kayla wasn't over tonight or the Jedi battering would continue for hours. Kess shrugged it off and typed in her brother's comm number.

The screen flickered as Nik's sleepy eyes and brown hair came clear enough to bring a smile to her face. "Heya, Nikolai. What's up?"

"Hey, sis." He rubbed his palm over his face to wake himself and spoke softly as to not wake up the baby. "Dad sold the homestead."

Kess nodded, hiding a twinge of disappointment. The family home carried many happy ancient memories, but more bad recent ones. Dad was forced into retirement shortly after she left home and had been looking to downsize for some time now. "We knew that was coming."

Nik rummaged around his comm desk on the other side of the screen. "We moved all the stuff out last weekend." He found a data chip and reached to the side of the screen to plug it in. "You probably don't remember, but Auntie Kaylie used to give us photocaps to play with when we were really little. I found one of your chips."

"I remember." Kess smiled softly at the vague memories and wondered if she should tell Nik about Lokey's request to redesign a lightsaber. She realized she didn't have to ask her brother for his opinion. She already knew what his response would be: _'Do it! Do it! Do it!'_

She also knew what her dad's response would be.

She rattled her head at this. "You wanted me to wake you up so you could show me pictures of blurry noses and the walls of the house?"

Nik grinned as he punched at controls on the side of the screen. "No, actually, you got a snapshot of something a little more interesting." He started thumbing through the photos, which showed up in a window insert in the corner of her barrack's comm screen. Blurry faces, white washed walls, a half of mom's mouth in a smile . . .

Kess scratched her earlobe and waited for the punch line. "You really gotta get off that rock if this is the kind of thing that keeps you up at night."

Nik's mouth curled to a half-grin as he focused on his own little corner to see the slide show. "Have you met Skywalker yet?"

"Not you too," Kess groaned.

Nik grinned devilishly, "You are on the same system as the guy."

"You guys act like he's a damn sports star or something," Kess complained.

Joanne called from the couch. "Yeah, but you're the only one of us that's a fan."

"Ah. Here it is." Nik stopped the slide show at a specific picture.

The snapshot was taken at a steep angle downward. White washed walls and the foot of an arched alcove were in the background. There was enough of the neatly swept concrete floor to show the black-painted design spreading from the courtyard to the living room. Kess remembered balancing the white zigzag like it was a tightrope and jumping on the big orange dots to play hopscotch.

The foreground was, of course, her own pudgy baby leg, naked and baked golden brown by the desert sun. A little shiny black shoe with little ruffled white socks dangled freely against the hip of the man that was holding her. The man's body wore an ivory tunic, brown cloak, and leather belt.

"Sweet sandy!" She burst to smile. "Is that Grandpa?"

Nik nodded deep. "Now I've got your attention." He thumbed to the next snapshot and waited, watching her reaction through the comm.

The next shot was a moment only a split second after the first, more of the body and less of the house. Her baby-fat knee had shifted and the black shoe was now a blur of action, but the left half of the Grandpa's torso was more in view. A utility belt striped across the waist of his pale tunic. His big hand was moving a silver cylindrical weapon to latch home onto his left hip.

It was hard to make out in the blurry shot, but if she didn't know any better . . .

Her head angled. Her eyes narrowed. Her voice squeaked. "Is that what I think it is?"

Nik smiled, his voice dipping deep and playful. "Told you he was a Jedi."

At this, Yana wandered over to look over Kess's shoulder at the photo. Joanne spun around and stood on her knees on the couch to get a peek.

"th— eh— I don't remember ever seeing him with a lightsaber!"

"I told you dad was lying all along."

"But—

"Look at the photo, Kess!"

"Do _you_ ever remember seeing it?"

"No, but," Nik poked his face towards the camera so much that the screen only showed his nose and mouth speaking extra loud and extra slow, " _look at the photo_."

Yana covered her smiling mouth with her palm and muttered obscenities of shock.

Kess put both palms on her braided head. "That's Grandpa. I recognize the tunic."

Nik settled back in his chair, nodded deeply, his brow arched over his eye. "Yeeaahh."

With a bewildered huff, she dropped her hands to the desk, narrowing her eyes on the shot. "That's a kriffing lightsaber!"

"Yeeaahh."

 _Now_ she was interested. "Were there any other shots of it? Or him?"

"No," he deflated. "This is all you got. And I only managed it because Dad didn't know I found it. He wiped out everything else about Grandpa a long time ago."

Kess sobered. She stared at the lightsaber hilt in the snapshot. "I should mention," she started to grin. "I'm taking this fencing class out in town and my teacher wants to start a two-handed sword class, so he wants me to design a lightsaber that doesn't cut arms off."

"Design one from scratch?"

Kess's eyes flicked an 'idiot' look to her brother's image.

His brown eyes lit up like twin suns. He smiled big as he started to cackle but then his adult voice came out in a deep, deadpan, big-brother order. "I want an autograph."

Kess laughed.

"I gotta go to bed," Nik said in a quieter voice, glancing over his shoulder.

Kess waved him off with both hands. "Tell Gina 'hi' and give my nephew a kiss."

Nik nodded and clicked off.

Kess angled her head and sighed deep.

Yana poked her mouth next to Kess's ear to mutter suggestively. "All military personnel have a message comm address in the base directory."

Kess's mouth twisted to the side. She knew that.

Yana sauntered away.

"The worst he could do is say 'no'," Joanne mumbled through a mouthful and switched off the vid.

She knew that too.

In a few minutes, her roommates were gone and Kess finally closed the photo of her grandfather's lightsaber. For a long time, Kess stared at the blank screen.

_If I were him, I'd say 'no'._

She wondered what he could see beyond his human sight or what he could feel beyond his human instincts. On what dimension could he detect approaching enemies, or approaching friends? She had dozens of questions about the Force and no one to ask.

At least, that's the way it used to be.

For years, Kess and Nik were told over and over that the Jedi Knights were long gone, killed by Darth Vader because they were too powerful in the Force to live normal lives and too dangerous to the Empire to be allowed to live at all. Dad's opinion on the matter probably would have been different if her mother had not died at the hands of Darth Vader, if her grandmother had not died shortly thereafter, and her grandfather had not abandoned them all amidst the entire familial disaster.

Kess and Nik wrote it off as a loss in the end. There were too many questions and no one to ask. All possibilities were gone before they were born, so there was no use fretting over what they could have been. Nik turned his attentions to chemical processing, Kess turned hers to aeronautic engineering, and their lives went on.

Then Kess watched the NewsNet report on the Battle of Yavin when the tiny rebellion finally kicked the Empire back with a force and blew the Death Star to bits. The report introduced her to a face, a name, and reminded her of a title that no one had spoken in present tense for as long as Kess could remember.

_Commander Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight._

Kess paid close attention to the man's accomplishments from day one. She fought off the numerous questions and burning curiosity every time she saw the Jedi on the vid. She wondered if she would ever be able to learn the ways of the Force, wondered if she was Force-sensitive to begin with, and wondered if Luke Skywalker would even care.

Now that a single Jedi Knight had emerged from the galaxy soup and saved the Alliance more than once, Kess found herself asking the same old questions and fretting over the possibilities of what she could have been. She wanted to ask so badly—

Images of an ugly response from her father flashed through her mind.

Her mouth twisted to the side.

That was then. This is now. She wasn't asking for an apprenticeship, nor was she asking any one of her dozens of stupid Force questions. Maybe she would get an autograph attached to his poignant decline.

**TO:       Commander Skywalker 144767-SKYW@ROGGRP.MIL**

**FR:       Lieutenant Lendra 239940-LEND@GLDREP.MIL**

**RE:       Request of Assistance**

**Commander,**

**I am a repair engineer for the Alliance and a student at Lokey's Ground Combat / Fencing, a privately owned and operated group of classes. In the interest of expanding his curriculum, the school's administrator has asked me to design a harmless version of a lightsaber for training.**

**I write to ask if you would you kindly share a copy of the schematic upon which to base the design. The document will be kept in strict confidentiality. We would appreciate any insight you may give us on this matter.**

**Thank you for your time.**

**Lt. Lendra**

The light of the comm screen glowed blue on Luke's tired eyes as he scanned his mail. His brow furrowed.

Leaning curiously onto his palm, he read again.

The corners of his mouth began to curl upward at the irony. He hit the key, read the letter, and brows lifted into his forehead.

Amazement splashed an incredulous twinkle in his eye.

Leaning back, he tapped his thumbs on the desktop and he chewed the inside of his cheek with thought. He read the letter a second time and the twinkle turned into a grin.

Luke leaned forward, paused to suppress a full smile, and typed a response.

 

 


	5. LL1 4 Unexpected Response

Kess blew up at her bangs and ignored morning muster. Her mind was just about to drift off to something more interesting, like the floor tiles, when Commander Tolgray's voice sounded out her name. "Lt. Lendra will be going on a repair-in-air for several months."

"I am?" Her own surprised voice broke the silence of Gold Group's eighty-crew audience. Her head jerked like a squirrel alerted to food.

The Commander continued, "LtJG Korbosi will be taking her place as Floor Supervisor during her absence."

"She will?" Kess piped playfully and looked at Kayla Korbosi beside her.

"I am?" Kayla echoed with the same mocking humor.

Commander Tolgray's eyes narrowed on the pair in the back row of the 'class'. "I am confident Lt. Lendra will be able to properly instruct LtJG Korbosi so that the transfer will move smoothly."

"Yes, sir!" Kayla and Kess echoed in unison and gave matching wimpy salutes.

Immediately after muster, Pad 9's repair crew shuffled combat boots across the concrete floor to various broken, gutted and piecemealed Y-wings. Clanking tools echoed against walls until the stone ceiling grumbled aside to let the sound out and the wet heat in. LtJG Kayla Korbosi sauntered across the floor like she was in a party dress instead of a jumpsuit and dropped a datapad on the Kess's desk to punctuate her arrival. "So what's the story on this repair-in-air?"

Kess sighed and shook her head. This side trip was starting to sound really weird. Victims of a temporary transfer usually knew about it before Command announced it at morning muster. And temporary transfers usually didn't happen to Floor Supervisors. This morning, Kess was slapped with a sudden departure and a whole new list of things to do. She was responsible for three Y-wings and six repair engineers. She was already undermanned by one (two if you count that idiot, Geoff) and now she was going to lose Kayla off the floor to fill her spot for an undetermined amount of time. This wasn't going to be easy, and Kess hated having to dump her workload onto her best friend.

Kess rubbed her eyes and met Kayla's patient gaze. "What are you working on right now?"

"Gold Six, hyperdrive alignment." Kayla tucked a magenta thread of hair into the fluffy yellow-blond bob behind her ear and glanced over her shoulder at a pilot strutting by. She smiled sweetly at him and elbowed Kess.

Kess elbowed back and looked, instead, to Gold Six. The the parked Y-wing in the distant corner of the pie-shaped landing hangar. Having her desk out along the wall where the ships were parked made it easier to see what was going on without having to stand up and leave an office. "Okay, you are going to have to drop that until we can find someone to pass it to. You need to follow me around for the next week to catch up on what's going on."

Kayla pointed out, "Captain Shelby won't like waiting for his hyperdrive."

"Captain Shelby won't die without a hyperdrive; he's only doing local watches anyway." She pulled up a stray chair to the side of the desk and patted its fraying seat cover. "I'll tell you what's going on with each issue as we run into it. Grab your datapad. We'll start with the inbox."

Kayla propped her chin on her palm and she watched Kess type into her messages. "What's the temp job all about?"

Kess typed away as she answered, "I report in two days, but they won't tell me to who, and I will be gone between one and four months, but they won't tell me to where."

"I'll bet they don't even know yet," Kayla grunted.

Kess's mail listings appeared on the screen. Fifty-eight messages in the inbox were oddly few, but the inbox was full of over a hundred tasks and complaints with status: unanswered. Trying to decide which bitch to deal with first, Kess heard Kayla's arm drop to the desktop with a thud.

She found Kayla's eyes fixed to the screen and her mouth agape. Kess's eyes followed her friend's arm to the screen until the fingertip rested on a name in the FROM list.

**Commander Skywalker**

Kess's eyes bulged. She keyed to the entry.

**TO:       Lieutenant Lendra 239940-LEND@GLDGRP.MIL**

**FR:       Commander Skywalker 144767-SKYW@ROGGRP.MIL**

**RE:       Response to Request**

**EC:       1 OrCad scat**

**Lt**.

**The schematic is enclosed. Please be careful with it.**

**I would like to see the results.**

**Skywalker**

Kess's mouth fell so far open she could dock a whole X-wing in it.

Kayla whispered wildly. "I can _not_ believe he actually gave it to you!"

Kess's grin widened as she reread it. "I can't believe he wrote me back!" She keyed to store the schematic and the letter on a datacard.

"You're going to save the letter too?"

Kess's cheeks went pink with giddiness as the file dumped onto a card. "This is worth putting in a scrapbook." She pulled out the precious datacard and slid into the shin pocket of her coveralls.

Kayla snickered, "You know, I think all that snot about your grandfather is a bunch of bantha fodder. You gotta thang, girly girl."

"What I _have_ is a schematic." Kess tucked the datacard away, giddy. "Now I just need an OdCAD program so I can _see_ it too."

Kess spent the next few days racing to prepare her personal affairs for her absence. Not knowing to whom she would be reporting to didn't bother her; she'd find that out when she got there. It was not knowing when she would return that was the pain. But with her roommates' assistance on messages and bills, and Kayla's diligent supervising skills waiting for the chance to blossom, Kess was able to get the 'to do list' down to a dismissive length by the time she arrived at Lokey's class the next week. It felt like she had been running non-stop since the day she found out about the trip. One of the things she hadn't found time for, however, was getting an OdCAD program on which to view the lightsaber schematic.

But at least she had it.

 

 


	6. LL1 5 Unarmed

The buzz sounded in her ears before her nerve endings registered the dull blade against her abdomen. That was three, but Kess had gotten the first two. She stepped back, saluted her faceless opponent with the wimpy, metal stick, and stepped off the mat.

Lokey's voice stopped her. "Kess, you're not done yet."

She stopped and looked. The small crowd of classmates gathered near the bench and wall. A man dressed in the same gray fencing outfit as everyone else, including the faceless helmet, stood next to Lokey. _The new guy._

Unamused, Kess stepped back onto the mat. She didn't understand Lokey's methods when he paired up students, but he was the instructor. With the mat to themselves, Kess saluted Lot and waited for his return. The figure fumbled to return the salute before he went _en guarde_.

Kess followed his lead and the duel began. Slowly at first, the man's offensive jabbed in but increased in speed. He had a precision to his aim that gave him the first point in a matter of seconds. Kess stepped back and huffed. When she fought Lot last week, he didn't have such precise aim.

She raised her guard and the man came at her again. He attacked from the left and every swing came with more strength than the previous. Kess defended, block after block, barely stopping the swishing blade at each strike. She raised her guard in time to find it block another swing she didn't realize was coming.

Kess blinked.

His attacks began to come faster. The tactics seemed pre-calculated and soon Kess found herself smoothly defending each swing with confidence. With her pride now returning, she calculated an attack of her own, but for the one instant she dropped her guard to lunge, his sword sunk into her arm, and the buzz echoed through the room.

He stepped back and adjusted his shoulders.

Kess stepped back and furrowed her brow. _That's it. I've had it with you!_

Kess lunged at him as soon as he was prepared for it, sending him into a wavering back step to defend himself. Kess wouldn't let him take the initiative again. She swung her sword with clean fervor, over and over, repeating the lunges and swings to keep him defensive until he made a mistake.

He kept backing up and Kess found her angle. This guy wasn't thinking about the boundaries of the mat. She made a bet on that and lunged in hard at his chest, hoping he would back up the ten remaining centimetres out of bounds.

Instead, the man jumped. He flipped like a gymnastics pro over her head and landed _behind_ her. By the time it took Kess to gasp, blink, and turn around, a dull sword tip buzzed at her back.

The man squared his shoulders, saluted, and lowered his little sword.

Kess stared. She practiced gymnastics at the gym once a week, and she was pretty good at it, but she had never seen anyone flip that high from a standstill. The reflective helmet safely hid her gaping insult while the man pulled off his. It was Commander Skywalker.

He combed his fingers through his darkening blond hair and gave Kess a friendly smile before turning to the rushing instructor.

Kess pulled off her helmet and tightened her teeth with offense. The unfairness blurted out of her mouth before checking for permission with her brain. "How dare you use the Force on an unarmed person!"

An eyebrow arched back in her direction. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too." He handed Lokey the helmet and sword then turned to her. "And you are . . . ?"

Kess slammed her mouth shut. The first time she saw him in person and she insulted him. She stepped off the mat so others could take their places. She fretted about how she was going to get out of trouble. The default method was, of course, just follow orders. She answered, stiff and humble, "Lieutenant Lendra, sir."

He crossed his arms at his chest and faced her. "Lendra," he echoed as if rolling the name through human memory circuits. "Did you get the schematic?"

Kess cleared her dry throat, "Yes, sir."

He paused for a second, looking at her expectantly. "And?"

Kess felt the burning pricks of nervousness in her feet and hands. She could barely hear the man's voice over the loud thumping in her heart. His blue eyes stared down at her and she was frozen in them. "Well, sir, I haven't b-been able to find an OrCad program to read it on yet . . . sir."

A twinkle of humor began to shine in eyes. "You didn't specify which Cad program you had."

"I d-didn't want to bother you with the details, sir." She found her posture was at attention and tried to relax her shoulders to keep from looking terrified. _Always say 'sir', always say 'sir'_.

The Commander dropped his arms to his sides and smiled white teeth. He looked at Lokey, patiently waiting for his attention, and quickly back at Kess, "If you were unarmed," he said with a friendly grin, "you wouldn't have lasted that long." He looked at her only a moment longer and turned his shoulders, and his attention, to Lokey.

Kess inhaled at the heat of embarrassment rushing to her face. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh, relieved that the Commander was now involved in a conversation with anyone else.

His voice echoed in her head. Her short-term memory was stuck on blue eyes. She tried a sneaky back step to remove herself from the intense meeting. If she tried further conversation, she would just embarrass herself even more.

Kess snuck a few steps away and forced her hands to relax. She noticed the class members shuffling about to change and go. Kess tucked her helmet under her arm and carried her sword into the locker room.

Before she walked out the door, Kess looked back to catch one last glimpse of him.

Commander Skywalker was standing easy and listening to Lokey with complete interest. _He did have blue eyes._ It was always hard to tell on the vid, and his hair seemed lighter in person. He smiled quietly at something Lokey said. Kess’s memory took a snapshot of the living legend.

Before it got the better of her, Kess rushed through the door to the lockerroom. Sighing hard, she admitted to herself she would probably never get to see Luke Skywalker in person again.

And she was right. By the time she changed and returned, the training room was empty except for Lokey and Rett.

"Hey, Lokey?" She approached with her bag swung over her shoulder. "I'm not going to be coming back for a while. I've got a temp job topside."

Lokey nodded with a shrug. "You want me to hold your spot?"

Kess shook her head, "No, I don't have a clue when I'm going to be back so I'll just reregister when the time comes, okay?" She paused. "What's with the visit from Jedi Skywalker?"

Rett grinned a little, his rich accent almost unintelligible. "He gave Lokey the twenty questions about the lightsaber schematic."

Kess cocked her head, "But he already gave it to me."

Lokey nodded, "I know, I guess he's just checking up on my intentions. He's got a lot of reasons to be nervous about the thing falling into the wrong hands."

"Yeah, like an entire Empire full of reasons."

Rett grumbled, "It's not like the schematic of a third Death Star. The guy's got to lighten up." After a sigh, he jerked his chin at Kess. "So where are you going?"

Kess shrugged, even if she did know, she had an entire Empire full of reasons why she wouldn't tell anyone. "I guess they'll tell me when I get there." She changed the subject. "I will get the right program and modify that thing for you. I've got your mail address so I'll be in touch."

Lokey responded easily, "Have fun on your trip."

Beside him, Rett smiled at her warmly, "You better come back. I wouldn't want you to leave me paired up with the new guy."

She grinned at Rett, "You'll live."

"Take care."

"See you around." She combed back the kinked hair off her shoulder and turn to the door. "Good night."

The chilly night air felt good on her skin. The street glowed blue-white in spots from the street lamps. The crickets sang a pleasant tune to distract the casual listener away from the deep bass hum of power flowing into the pad complexes. Kess got to the sidewalk and began her stroll back to barracks.

She saw, and spoke with, _Luke Skywalker_ tonight, the only Jedi Knight in existence.

She remembered his eyes and smile, his voice, his words . . . _her_ words . . .

_Fumbling like that when you meet a good-looking guy?_ Her eyes dropped closed and mentally kicked her own butt. _This is why you’re still single._


	7. LL1 6 Weird Assignment

Lt. Lendra reported to her Repair Supervisor just before knock-off on the last day before the repair-in-air, as ordered. She stood in front of his desk at a casual parade rest and looked down at him with a smile.

Lieutenant Commander Shorkey leaned back in his chair to finish a conversation with his boss, the Repair Manager, sitting in the desk next to his own. The voices of the Gold Group's five management team members sounded in rattling orders and questions on the commlinks, comm ports and with several more bodies in the room. Kess ignored the usual hubbub that never quieted in the managers' office and simply watched LC Shorkey with a knowing grin.

When his conversation with the Repair Manager was over, he smiled back at her and leaned into his desk. "I had nothing to do with this, you know?"

"You still don't know who I'm supposed to report to, do you?"

"Yes, I do," Shorkey admitted. He got up only so he could sit on the corner of his desk. "I found out yesterday, but I still don't know how long you'll be gone. The one-to-four month guess was all they could give me. Is Korbosi all set?"

"She is as set as she's going to get if I'm leaving in the morning." There was no more time for training, but Kess knew Kayla's abilities better than Shorkey did. She was confident the Lieutenant Junior Grade could handle the responsibility of three birds. "She'll be fine."

Shorkey nodded in trust and picked up one of many datapads off his desk. With tightened lips, he reviewed it and then handed it to her. "Here's the top priority list of repairs to be completed. You will also be performing a few things here and there per orders of the Captain, but as long as you get that list done, you'll be all right. Most of the repairs are just reworking some haphazard modifications, so there will be more engineering skills at work rather than troubleshooting."

Kess reviewed the list as he spoke. It was a short list, but all the items on it were big. "Rewire the navicomputer?" she read with raised eyebrows. "Are you kidding me?"

Shorkey smiled, "It's a privately-owned Corellian freighter, but the Captain is in the service of the Alliance in some political fashion or another. Repair what you can in hyperspace and tend to the rest at the final destination while the passengers tend to their business."

Commander Tolgray, a man with which she rarely had a direct conversation, stood up from his desk and stepped to Kess's side, "You were requested by name for this job." He told her firmly, "Don't disappoint them and you won't disappoint me."

"Yes, sir." She responded in a small voice and watched him walk away. She pulled her nervous eyes from the GCs back to look again at Shorkey, "Don't disappoint who?"

Shorkey paused before answering. "This is a chance to show your colors, Kess. I know you can do it, but you have to be your absolute best on this trip."

A frown creased her forehead. "Don't disappoint who?"

Shorkey gave Kess a meaningful look. "Report to Pad 14 at zero five hundred. Captain Solo of the _Millennium Falcon_."

All conversation in the room dribbled to a stop. The managers' office went deathly quiet. They stared at him as if they hadn't heard him right. Since Commander Tolgray knew already, he watched Kess out of the corner of his eye for her reaction.

Kess was, for a moment, in a standing coma.

Shorkey cracked a grin. He knew this was a heavy assignment. Any repair engineer in the Alliance that held pride with their reputation would jump at the chance to work on the _Falcon_. Other engineers who were just here for the dental plan would collapse under the magnitude of work.

Kess's throat went dry as she imagined the Captain's face in person after seeing dozens of pictures of him on the vid. She gulped hard at the thought. Few engineers were allowed to touch the _Falcon_ , much less do a repair-in-air. And out of the blue, she just met Commander Skywalker by coincidence?

Kess wondered how she could have been handpicked if she'd never met the _Falcon's_ Captain before. There was no reason why Solo would know who she was. She shook her head at Shorkey, "This doesn't make any sense."

"It's the _Falcon_. It never makes any sense." He shoved to his feet and turned away, "I guess I'll see you in four months."

The girly girls descended upon the Mash Pit every week and, as the military's working class, blended in with all the other regular customers every time. Neon lights warped the color of the low-lit overheads. Upbeat music bopped from the jukebox but the tiny dance floor lay empty in front of a long bar. The dining room was decorated in deep reds and wood colors from the tattered, flowery carpet to the paper and cardboard menus with the prices edited by ink pen. The place looked like an urban hunting lodge. For LtJG Kayla Korbosi, it was.

Kayla's forwardness sometimes made Kess a little uneasy. Kayla used to try to hook Kess up with one guy or another until Kess put a stop to the blind dates with a threat upon Kayla's life. Now Kayla's tactic was to drag Kess with her to talk to a pair of men at the bar, a pair of men on the dance floor, a pair of men in the elevator. . . .

Upon entry, Kess brown eyes searched the restaurant and felt victorious when the two women sat down at a table in the back. No pair of men in attendance tonight. Kess was safe. They ordered four ales and one large patzia and, by the time the holographic waiter flickered away, Yana and Joanne were hurrying through the door.

Joanne slid into the chair across from Kess and looked at her with wide eyes, "You are a fool!"

Yana quietly sat down next to her and smiled, "I'm not sure if I got the story quite right. What exactly did you say to him again?"

Kess pursed her lips in embarrassment, "I said, 'How dare you use the Force against an unarmed person.'"

Joanne slapped an open hand over her eyes. "You moron."

Kayla licked her painted lips. "Now, Kess honey," she teased, "I thought I taught you better than that."

Kess grabbed the first mug of ale that hit the table. She took a long slow swig to try to numb the beating she was about to get from her friends. She shouldn't have told them about that line. They would never let her live it down.

Kayla saved the day, sort of, by changing the subject. "So! They're here. Now are you going to tell us what this trip is all about?"

Kess grinned and met their glances as her friends sipped full mugs. "First of all, I'd like to mention the reason they pulled a Floor Supervisor for it was because I was asked for by name."

Yana shrugged, "Yeah, okay. So what?"

Kess sighed and grinned wider, "I'm reporting to Captain Solo of the _Millennium Falcon_."

Yana's brows shot up, "Really?"

Joanne chuckled, "You're in for it now, girly girl!"

Kayla furrowed her brow and leaned over to Kess, "You are joking, right?" Yana and Joanne weren't engineers, so they didn't understand the weight of the job as Kayla did.

"No," Kess assured, "I'm not kidding. I'd like to know, though, how in a black hole could he have asked for me by name if I've never met him before."

"You met Skywalker. Those two are pals." Joanne offered an explanation. "Maybe the Jedi wants to get to know you better." Her brows jumped up and down suggestively.

Yana shrugged, "He said you weren't unarmed after all. Maybe he thinks you're Force-sensitive."

Joanne chuckled, "Right. He's going to pick out the first possible apprentice that insults him and freezes up when she talks to him."

Kayla looked oddly mature to consider that. "No, we heard about the trip last week, she only met Skywalker last night."

Kess listened to the evidence being put on the table, "I doubt Skywalker is even going on the trip. The _Falcon_ isn't a taxi for him and the Councilor. Besides, the three of them have hardly been in the same place at the same time since the Bakuran Treaty."

Joanne leaned in on her elbows, "You can't discount the possibility that he will be there. Look at the bright side, Kess. You've always wanted to meet him and you did. You've always wanted to work on the _Falcon_ and you're going to."

Yana continued with a quiet, sneaky voice, before pouring more ale into her mouth, "She's always wanted to be a Jedi. . . . "

Kess shot her a look. "That's enough. I'll find out if he's going tomorrow. Right now, it doesn't matter. And if he is going, then—

Yana sputtered her words. "You'll just have to find a way to suck up to him."

Kayla angled her head. "How _do_ you suck up to a Jedi without him figuring it out?"

Kess let out a groan as her friends giggled at her. Not only did she have an extremely important and very broken ship to fix and an overbearing, non-military Captain to report to, she had to be ready to deal with a princess politician and maybe also The Jedi, of whom she insulted, for four long months. Kess took another long swig of her beer.

"You'll be fine," Joanne assured. "If he went dark side on you about the remark, he would've just killed you on the spot."

Yana grinned, "Just keep your mouth shut and you'll be okay."

"You guys are really a lot of help." Kess told them and shook her head. The patzia slid onto the table between them and three hands went for a piece of the pie.

Kayla held back and squinted at her beer in deep thought. "I wonder if he uses the Force during sex."

Yana snickered as she bit at her patzia. Joanne burst out in a hearty laughter. Kess hid embarrassed eyes with her hand.

Kayla's eyes twinkled at her friend, "Ask him for me, will you?"

"I will _not_." Kess's eyes turned hard on the girl even though she knew Kayla was joking. "But thanks for your support."


	8. LL1 7 Big Furry Wall

**LL1 7 Big Furry Wall**

"Good morning," said the syrupy polite voice of the computerized alarm. "It is zero four hundred."

Kess didn't move from her dead position on the single-wide bed. She heard the alarm. That sickeningly sweet voice was set just loud enough to be annoying. Kess was simply ignoring it, but the alarm wouldn't be ignored.

"Good morning," it repeated. "It is zero four zero one... You have people to impress today."

Kess grinned into her pillow. She liked having an alarm she could program. She opened her eyes just a crack and waited for the next line she programmed the alarm to say.

"Good morning. It is zero four zero two... You have people to impress today... So get your lazy butt out of bed."

She chuckled into her pillow and rolled over. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she stared up at the ceiling thinking about _The Millennium Falcon_ …

The Smuggler. The Princess. The Jedi…

The magnitude. The responsibility. The visibility...

"Good morning-"

"All right already!" Kess yelled, trying to interrupt the alarm. She jumped out of bed and hit the switch. The computers sickening voice went silent.

Chilly morning air bit at her cheeks as Kess walked to the next complex beyond her own workplace. Streetlights were still on regardless of the orange in the eastern sky. Kess saw only three speeders on the road during her six blocks worth of pedestrian commute.

She walked into the front gateway and moved quickly to the travel way. The shops in the pad core were just starting to open. A small diner serving hot cups and pastries bustled with all of three customers; it was the most people Kess saw all morning.

The layout of the complexes was exact so Kess already knew the way to Pad 14, the same route she would have taken to Pad 4. Other than the layout, however, nothing was the same. Instead of Y-wings and small transports, Kess walked by X-wings and more X-wings. Pads 11 through 13 were chock full with nothing but X-wings. When she walked under the archway to Pad 14, she found even more X-wings and one very dirty, very broken, Corellian Freighter.

The ramp was down and the power conduit hummed through the early morning silence. Upon approaching the looming craft, she saw no bodies and heard no voices. Piles of equipment stood ten metres from the ramp. She noticed it was all second-rate stuff. The labels of a variety of Group and Division symbols meant she got whatever the Alliance had to spare, and probably not all she needed. She sighed down at the equipment and heard the sound of metal tapping on metal, servos whirring back and forth. Kess turned to find a shiny gold protocol droid stepping down the unlit ramp.

"Good morning," she greeted the droid with a smile, happy to see that she didn't get up at 0400 for nothing.

The droid looked at her in surprise. "Good morning. I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations."

Kess gave him her full attention, "Lieutenant Kess Lendra, reporting as ordered."

The droid's proper accent grew happier. "You are the repair engineer assigned to the _Millennium Falcon_ for our pending trip, are you not?"

"Yes, I am. Is the Captain aboard? I need to report in."

"I'm afraid not, Lieutenant. Captain Solo has not yet arrived. However, they should be here any moment. Chewbacca is on board at this time. You may report to him while we wait."

"Is he the First Officer?" Kess asked, glancing up the ramp and seeing nothing.

"Yes, Lieutenant."

"Thank you." She nodded sharply to dismiss the droid and headed for the ramp. Kess had enough experience with protocol droids to know that they tended to ramble if you let them. It was just one of many little tidbits she learned while working at a droid repair shop during secondary school. As a result, most people didn't treat droids the way she did. Besides cutting off a rambler mid-sentence, she treated droids with the same respect as everyone else. Kess was a repair engineer down to her blood. Droids were people too.

She winced to get a closer look at the craft. There were blast shots still un-repaired on its dirty gray hull. Bulkhead panels were completely missing from the circular passageway. Rounding the slow corner towards the cockpit, she stopped when a horrifying sight caught her eye.

One of lower side panels was missing to reveal the botched circuitry inside. Components were spliced into a charred circuit to the point of looking like a three-dimensional honeycomb for a bee with no taste in architecture. The circuit was so badly jury-rigged, in fact, that Kess could not recognize what kind of circuit it was. She dismissed the worry with a blink, turned, and bumped face-first into a furry wall that was not there a moment ago.

A soft growl sounded. Kess stepped back to lift her eyes to the source, and her eyes just kept going up and up, until finally finding the Wookiee's face as he growled again.

Kess gulped.

C-3PO's voice spoke behind her, "Lieutenant, if I may introduce you to Chewbacca, First Officer of the _Millennium Falcon_."

Kess could barely get her squeaky voice above a whisper, "Lt. Lendra, reporting for duty, sir."

The large creature started a series of hoots and growls in different tones and Kess realized he was talking.

"He says that he would like you to bring your equipment on board as quickly as possible. He says you should store it in the port side of the cargo bay."

Kess had to gulp again, "Yes, sir. Uh, which way to the cargo bay?"

Chewbacca gave her a condescending look and started to walk away. She adjusted the giant duffel bag over her shoulder before following him around the passageway and into the largest open space in the back of the ship.

Chewbacca stepped around some more into the main bay motioning her to follow, then he whipped an arm towards an empty bunk for her to drop her bag.

Moving back around to the ramp to retrieve the first load, Kess stopped her boots in the main bay. She found it hard to believe the famous couple was willing to travel in such rugged quarters. Equipment cabinets towered the room, a well-used holograph table took up a corner and, in the cubby across from that, huddled greasy galley, smaller than the one in her barracks room. The engineering station had only one stock chair but another mismatched chair was bolted to the deck beside it. Right before the port side passageway sat a dark blue, fluffy couch a half-metre too short for humans.

Trying not to curl her nose at the lack of comfort in the main bay, her home for the next one-to-four months, she turned back to the passageway and went for the first load.

 

 


	9. LL1 8 Take Off

**LL1 8 Take Off**

C-3PO stood outside the ramp again, looking anxiously out to the empty travel way. Kess didn't ask who he was so eager to see and didn't see anyone else herself until after she had loaded the last of seven armloads of equipment into the cargo bay and moved to the galley for a glass of hydrate.

"I'm not going to let you go alone!" A man's voice echoed in from the ramp, increasing in amplitude as bodies approached.

Kess turned around and peered down the corridor. Captain Solo and his wife, the Royal Councilor, argued as they entered through the back hatch instead. The back hatch caught on its rollers and stuck halfway open.

The former Princess of Alderaan looked like she was dressed to go hiking. Leia turned impatiently to shove the hatch open as if she was picking a fight with the ship. "Han! The _Falcon_ is on its last legs. It desperately needs that overhaul! Take the opportunity while you have it!"

"No one is going to work on this ship without me. I won't leave it behind for some nobody to screw it up and I won't let you go alone!" The Captain stopped in his tracks when his eyes found a new body on his ship. For a moment, his eyes went meaner, then, as though he just remembered, he beamed with pride to his wife.

By now, the Councilor Organa Solo paused as well to look quizzically at this stranger on board.

Captain Solo explained as if this would fix everything. "So, I got Admiral Drayson to lend me a repair engineer for the trip."

Chewbacca stepped in from the port corridor and growled something indignant.

The Councilor rolled her eyes. "This is more important than the _Falcon's_ overhaul. I _have_ to be there on time. We only have a three-hour window for a safe arrival." Despite her shortness and pretty face, Leia-Organa-Solo-On-A-Tirade felt a dozen times more dangerous than a broken blaster auto-fire you couldn't shut off.

" _And you will be_ ," the Captain assured. "The Admiral promised me the absolute best engineer available." He motioned a hand out to Kess with a clear expression that this was her cue. "Isn't that right?"

Kess nodded and gave him an enthusiastic, "Yes, sir!"

He smiled, "There. See? What's your name?"

"Lieutenant Kess Lendra, sir."

Councilor Organa Solo crossed her arms and looked impatiently as her husband, but the Captain ignored it and carried on a show of introductions. "I'm Captain Han Solo and this is _Her_ _Highnessness_."

The Councilor dropped her arms and looked at Kess only briefly with a huff, "Make sure the hyperdrive works," and marched out of the bay.

Chewbacca hooted with laughter.

Solo spat back at him, "Shut up. She's going. Okay? I won." He turned to Kess and put his hands on his hips. He looked her clean-pressed uniform up and down. "All the equipment aboard?"

"Yes, sir." She squared her shoulders at him and successfully hid the humor at the man's groveling display. Somehow, she wasn't as nervous in the presence of these two as 'the other guy', but seeing them in person was just as weird.

Chewbacca crossed the bay to follow the Councilor's path into the cockpit and Solo began to follow him, flicking his fingers in the air at her. "Well, bring up some diagnostics or something." He motioned clumsily toward a terminal as he disappeared around the corner.

As soon as the room was empty, Kess turned to the main terminal and sat down in the high-backed chair, instantly typing away at the keyboard. She hardly got the first sequence started when C-3PO's excited voice drifted in from the corridor. Beeps and whistles answered him.

The gold droid hurried into the bay's back hatch, rattling off about some medical droid he ran into on his latest adventure. He and an astromech unit proceeded to the game table and mechanically strapped themselves in.

C-3PO kept rambling and Kess was trying to ignore him when, deep in the guts of the ship, a shuddering groan rose octaves in a matter of seconds. Kess panicked, darted across the bay, slid into the booth, and frantically found her own set of straps.

"Ah, Lieutenant," C-3PO interrupted himself, "I'd like you meet my counterpart, R2-D2."

The scuffed dome of the astromech unit beeped hello.

"Hello," Kess told him, still concentrating on her straps.

"The Lieutenant is a Repair Engineer come to attend to the _Millennium Falcon_ during our trip."

R2-D2 quipped back with the astromech equivalent of sarcasm, "Captain Solo must really be in trouble this time."

Kess grinned as the beeps translated in her head but decided not to comment on the R2 unit's remark. Resting her head back on the hard booth, and recognizing the sound of releasing mooring lines, she blew out a sigh of disappointment.

 _Guess the mighty Jedi isn't coming on this trip_.   

 _Bummer_.          

* * *

"You're late." Han bitched as he flipped switches and checked gauges.

Luke punched the hatch control to slide shut behind him and took the seat behind Chewie. "Sorry." He pulled the straps over his shoulders, but Luke's hands slowed to look over his shoulder. He sensed out through the bulkhead and then eyed Leia. "Who else is on board?"

Leia smiled tightly, "He decided to rob the Alliance of an engineer to make me feel better about the _Falcon_ not getting its overhaul."

The buckle clicked audibly. Luke leaned forward against the straps. "Han, we've only got a three-hour window."

"Would you two relax?" Han whined. "Once we get into hyperspace, the time of arrival is set. And if anything does go wrong, Lendra's here to fix it."

Chewie growled a complaint.

Han grumbled back, "Well, I'm certainly not going to let her touch any critical systems until we get there."

"Lendra?" Luke repeated in surprise.

"Yeah." Han gave him a double take. "Why? You know her?"

Luke sat back with a perplexed grin, "Not exactly."

Han didn't care. He blurted a boisterous shout, "Okay, we're outta here!"

The Jedi lost himself in thought as the _Falcon_ punched through the early morning atmosphere. Luke wondered if he was ready for what lie ahead and decided that he would probably never feel ready for it anyway. The fact that Kesselia K. Lendra was on board could not have been purely coincidental. The Force somehow opened the door of opportunity and this was far more than a subtle hint.

Whether Luke was ready for it or not, it was time.


	10. LL1 9 Star Struck

**LL1 9 Star Struck**

Kess may have been a ground pounder but she was well aware of what hyperspace felt like. She peeled off the straps as soon as gravity caught up and dashed to the terminal to carry out her standing orders. The second diagnostic sequence began scrolling up the screen when voices poured in from the passageway.

Leia Organa Solo approached Kess with a calculating glare. She wore a rawhide jacket, scuffed black boots, and rough khaki pants. The woman looked nothing like the famous Princess from the late Alderaan, nothing like the youngest Ambassador of the Imperial Senate, and barely resembled the New Alliance Councilor that masterminded so many treaties and diplomatic relations. Kess remembered seeing her on the vid wearing expensive dresses bowing with leaders from dozens of systems. She even saw her at Mon Mothma's side in more than one Chief Commander Report. The Councilor looked out of place here. In rugged clothes, on a rugged ship, with a rugged husband, she looked like a normal person.

"Did you go through a security check?" the Councilor asked with inquisitive eyes.

C-3PO raised a golden finger as he mechanically stood from his chair. "If I may say so, Councilor, New Alliance procedures on security checks dictate the subject shall not be informed or otherwise aware that they are undergoing a security check before or at that time." The droid stopped in the center of the bay, awaiting a 'thank you' from the Councilor. The Councilor sighed as though the droid had spilled the beans.

Kess grinned sheepishly, "I don't know, ma'am."

Captain Solo interjected as he entered the bay, "Drayson wouldn't have sent me an engineer who hadn't." He slapped C-3PO on the arm like an old buddy, his tone was too kind, "Goldenrod, there's no need for you to be wasting such valuable energy while were in hyperspace. Why don't you take the opportunity to shut down and recharge for a couple of days."

"Why, thank you, sir. Please feel free to activate me if the need arises."

Solo's act was almost comical. "Of course," he nodded with rich sarcasm. "It's kind of you to offer."

Kess and the Councilor watched C-3PO stiffly walk to a corner of the bay. He paused as though he sensed a note of mockery in the Captain's voice but brushed it off as a matter to ignore. The lights in his eyes went out and the droid fell asleep.

Captain Solo smiled cocky at his audience until R2-D2 bumped him from behind.

Kess understood the astromech as if he were saying it in Basic. "I need to shut down and recharge too, Captain," R2D2 whistled. "I am twelve days overdue and I doubt he is going to get around to it on a treaty trip."

The Captain responded as though he understood what the astromech said. "You're gonna have to ask him about that, kiddo."

Kess watched the dome head roll away in defeat and returned her attentions to the Councilor. The Councilor's glare softened only a little when she leaned against the terminal desk and crossed her arms. "Do you know anything about diplomacy?"

Kess didn't read the expression as disrespect, just worried. Assuming there was some secretive and very important mission on the other end of this trip, Kess simply played along to ease the Councilor's concerns. "Not really, ma'am. I mean, I know the Imperials are the bad guys." She shrugged pathetically.

The Councilor grinned to the humor, "Well, we have a difficult task ahead of us." She stood up straight again. "You and I will get together on the customs before we arrive."

"Yes, ma'am." She watched the Councilor stroll to the game table and Kess turned her attentions to the third and final set of diagnostics.

"How are those diagnostics coming?" The Captain poked out from the kitchen with a steamy mug and leaned his shoulder against the bulkhead.

"Just started the third sequence, sir. I can get to those hyperdrive motivator schematics as soon as this completes."

Captain Solo's voice went cold, "What hyperdrive motivator schematics?"

Kess saw his wary eyes and stopped breathing for an instant. She pulled the datacard out of her shin pocket and handed it to him. "My orders included a list of repairs I'm to complete before our return, sir."

Solo's frown deepened. He put down his mug, slid the card into a datapad, and read.

"The hyperdrive motivator is the most critical item on the list, sir." Kess continued cautiously, but the Captain ignored her. He ignored his wife noisily tossing datacards on the game table from a bag, ignored the warbling of the astromech unit, and ignored the clicks of boots echoing in from the corridor.

Kess did a double take to realize a _fourth_ human was on board. She was downright stupefied when she saw who it was. Her heart audibly skipped a beat when the Jedi Knight strolled into the bay.

"Good morning, Lieutenant." Skywalker barely glanced at her as he joined his sister at the table. Another bag full of datacards began tumbling out in a clatter.

Kess gulped and tore her eyes off the Jedi uniform. Her eyes fell on the lightsaber hanging from his belt, and again tore her eyes away to stare at the uncomfortably at the floor.

At Lokey's, he was dressed in the same fencing outfit that she had. She wondered if his saber was hidden under the suit that day. She hoped he had forgotten about her remark, cursing herself about it once more, and wondered, again, what he had meant by his.

"Lieutenant?" Skywalker repeated. His voice rang out in her ears.

She shook the buzzing thoughts out of her head, "Um, sorry, sir. I j-just wasn't aware that you were going, um, on the trip," (gulp) "Sir."

Skywalker turned to the table again, sifting through the datacards and pretending not to notice her nervousness. His tone was politely stale, "Nor I, you. But since you're here, maybe we can schedule a few matches. I certainly could use more practice." His eyes flicked to her again for only a brief second and returned to the duties at the table. "And I'll promise not to use the Force if you like."

A picture flashed in her mind, but the scene of the two of them dressed up in fencing sensor suits on a border-controlled mat didn't quite fit the available space in the main bay. "You carry fencing equipment on board, sir?"

"Er, no." Skywalker smiled oddly, "We have an OrCad program on board."

Her eyes closed for a long blink, cursing herself for the stupid question. "Yes, sir," she mumbled. Her eyes opened to find a datacard in front of her again.

Solo's voice was colder now. "No hyperdrive motivator, no navicomputer, no fire control. I can't let you tear down any of my critical systems on this trip."

She shot out of her chair with a plea. "But, Captain, this is the list I was given-" Kess urged him.

"No." He put up a stiff finger, "You will follow my orders to the letter. You will repair what I tell you to repair in the order I tell you to repair them. The people that wrote this list don't know how my ship is wired. While we're in hyperspace, you cannot touch any critical systems, and that's final."

She met his narrowed eyes long enough to realize just how much of a vote she had. "Yes, sir." Her shoulders slumped considerably, "What do you want me to work on first?"

The Captain stepped back a pace and looked at the Commander. The Jedi was watching cautiously from the game table, keeping his nose respectfully out of it.

"The hypo-shower," the Captain replied.

Kess blinked hard and tried not to sound disgusted. "You want me to fix your shower?"

"Yes. The shower," he decided firmly. "There's too much hydrogen in the spray, it needs to be realigned."

Kess stood and set her shoulders. "The shower," she repeated. She walked with purpose to the port corridor.

_Four months of repair-in-air and he's going to have me fix all of his creature comforts instead of the stuff that will get him killed._ Kess made a mental bet that the next thing he would have her work on was the stupid repulsor couch.

 


	11. LL1 10 Farm Boy

** L1      10        Farm boy **

Luke rubbed his eyes and leaned into the table trying to make himself interested in the diplomatic problems of the Frakkan System. Studying the fine details of a treaty was usually boring and this one was no different. He glanced at Artoo, perched quietly across the bay, and noticed all the carbon dimming the lights of the droid's database hookup. He thought back over time and realized it had been over a month since he fully serviced his own droid.

Luke rubbed his eyes again and reminded himself of his priorities. First, he had to deal with the treaty, and then he could take care of Artoo. Otherwise, he would procrastinate studying the stuff until they got there. He read on.

His Force senses alerted him before he heard her footsteps approach from the corridor. She already changed into a green jumpsuit and combat boots, but her hair was still in the same blond bun. She carried a large brass object in her hand. Greens and grays discolored the metal and powdery white rocks crusted the fat end.

Luke put down his datapad and watched her eyes dart nervously about the room before she dared to look at him. "Is the Captain in the cockpit, sir?"

He leaned back in the booth and crossed his arms, "Yes, but I wouldn't bother him." After thinking about how that might have sounded, he added a shy explanation. "They don't get many chances to be alone."

She glanced at the corridor to the cockpit, "I see... sir." Kess blew up at her bangs and looked at the crusted piece in her hand.

From across the room, he could tell that she was diverting her eyes to look at anything but him and could feel that she had question lumped in her throat. He tried to take it in stride for he was used to this by now, but a part of him just wanted to just bark it out for everyone to hear, _I am a Jedi! Not a monster!_

After a minute of silence, he asked flatly, "What's the matter?"

She shrugged, "It's nothing, sir. The hypo-shower doesn't need to be aligned. It needs cleaning. I found flexium deposits all over the filter head," She held up the disgusting object for him to view. "I can clean it off with petunic acid, but I don't know if he has any on board."

Luke smiled tightly. The lump was still in her throat. That was not the question she wanted to ask, but Luke was willing to play along, "Why don't you ask Chewie?"

The Lieutenant smiled shyly at the deck, "The First Officer is asleep, sir. I didn't really want to wake him over the hyposhower."

Luke smiled back. That was wise. He got nervous waking Chewie up even when the Wookiee's life was in danger, and Luke was an old friend. "So take a break," he offered and raised the datapad reluctantly to his sights again.

"Um, yes, sir," she mumbled. She shuffled her boots a bit and looked around the room indecisively.

Luke watched her out of the corner of his eye trying to pretend he was reading the datapad. She glanced back at the filter head with a sigh and set it down. She looked around as if wondering what to do, then those brown eyes landed on Artoo and she cracked a grin. The Lieutenant pursed her lips and whistled a bouncy astromech sentence.

Artoo blinked awake and slowly swiveled his head to her. He whistled back a question.

Her grin grew, "I just thought you were looking a little under the weather."

Artoo whistled another question.

"Yeah, sure," she motioned for him to come over and lowered to her knees, "I've got nothing better to do." Quickly, her eyes went to Luke and her smile faded, "If that's okay with you, Commander."

Luke realized his act of reading had drifted into a curious stare. "If what's okay with me?"

She looked the droid directly in his red/blue optic and smiled. "Cleaning him up. He said he hasn't been serviced in over a month." When her eyes looked easily back at him, and saw him, her smile vanished, "Sir."

Luke could not help his expression. The fearful 'sirs' were becoming humorous, but his humor clouded with confusion. Why hadn't he known she spoke astromech? Surely, he would have noticed before—

Artoo interrupted his train of thought with an annoyed beep.

"Uh, yeah," he finally said, "go ahead." He already knew she worked on Y-wings, and every Y-wing had an astromech droid. It made perfect sense that she would have picked up the language somewhere along the way, but he never heard her whistle it, or listen to it with understanding before. "Where did you learn to speak astromech?"

She pulled a hand tool out of a hidden pocket of her jumpsuit and opened one of Artoo's front doors. "Well, sir, I can't really 'speak' it. The beeps always mess me up." Artoo whistled something derogatory and she gave him back a derogatory "really."

She glanced again at Luke, "Er, I used to work at a droid repair shop in Mos Eisley Spaceport before I joined the Rebellion. It comes in pretty handy working on Y-wings, sir."

His eyebrows lifted into his forehead, but he didn't sense any deceit. She wasn't the kind of woman he would expect to find in Tatooine's worst collection of smugglers. His tone evaded his expression, "How long were you in Mos Eisley?"

"Oh, about twenty years." She shrugged, grinning, "It's a great place to be _from_."

Luke blinked, "You're _from_ Mos Eisley?"

"Born and raised," she said. "I take it you've spent some time there yourself, Commander? Most people don't even know where that is."

Luke had to verify his mouth was still closed.

Artoo's next series of beeps pulled him out of his dumbfounded stare and the Lieutenant blinked at him in amazement. "You're kidding!" She gasped at the droid and looked at Luke with wide eyes. "You're from Tatooine?"

_Perfect, now Artoo is telling her things about me and I can't understand what he's saying._            

"Uh, raised. Not born."

"Really?" She was suddenly giddy about all this. "What part?"

Luke remembered the social status he had to deal with on Tatooine as a moisture farmer's foster son and fought not to sink in his chair. The tables turned on him and she wasn't tacking a 'sir' on the end of every sentence anymore. He swallowed a stale teenager reaction and set his chin, "Just south of Anchorhead."

Kess had to think about that one for a second. "Anchorhead?" Her eyes searched the air to think hard on that one until narrowed brown eyes slid warily back at him, "There's not much out that way."

The Commander nodded in a heartfelt agreement, "There is _nothing_ out that way. My aunt and uncle ran a moisture farm. My whole youth revolved around the winter harvest."

Kess backed slowly away from Artoo and sat on her heels. She hesitated before asking the obvious, "You're a _farm boy_?"

Luke gritted his teeth to a grin and returned his eyes to his datapad. "I am a farm boy," he verified and whipped an index finger with authority. "Now get back to work on Artoo."

Kess hid her grin the best she could, "Yes, sir." She turned her eyes to the awaiting droid and swallowed the desperate urge to giggle.

 

 


	12. LL1 11 Jedi Tricks

** LL1 11 Jedi Tricks **

Pushing a wisp of stray hair behind her ear, Kess picked up her hand tools one by one and tossed them into her tool bag. Latching the top and picking it up, she noticed the white flexium residue covering the front of her clothes from cleaning that filter head.

"This is ridiculous," she muttered to herself, hoping the flexium would come out in the wash. On her first day on the infamous _Falcon_ , she cleaned out the hypo-shower, repaired a hatch to a storage bin, adjusted the buttons on the keyboard to the main terminal, and calibrated the temperature gauge on the cold box. Kess was feeling more like a husband on vacation than a repair engineer.

She blew up at her bangs and went to the main bay for dinner. Chewbacca came out of the kitchen with two loaded plates and intercepted her stroll across the bay. He grunted as he shoved a plate into her free hand.

"All eating passengers and crew take turns cooking, Lieutenant," Solo said, taking the other plate from the Wookiee and handing it to his wife. "You've got dinner tomorrow."

"Yes, sir." She said and set down her tool bag. The game table was full so she sat on the broken repulsor couch sitting flat on the deck. Kess stretched her legs out in front of her and set her plate on her knees to eat.

"How's that storage hatch coming?" The Captain took another plate from the Wookiee's second trip and dug in.

"The hatch works," she hissed quietly.

"Good. Tomorrow, see what you can do with that repulsor couch," Solo ordered easily.

Kess concentrated to maintain control of her tone. "With all due respect, sir, I have to get to work on that list."

"There's nothing you can do on that list while we're in hyperspace. So relax, okay?"

Kess set down her fork, "Captain Solo, before I can 'do' anything on that list, I need schematics for the systems and put in hours on a Cad program. _That_ I _can_ do in hyperspace."

Solo huffed at his plate, "Look, right now, it's time to eat. We will talk about your precious list in the morning."

"Yes, sir," Kess whispered at her own plate, debating her options in this pickle. Commander Tolgray pressed upon her that her performance would be measured by her success against that repair list. And the only way to be relieved of that responsibility was for Captain Solo himself to provide indisputable back-up directly in the face of the powers-that-be who issued the repair list in the first place.

At this rate, the repair list wasn't going to happen, and Captain Solo's gracious defense to relieve her of having to do that list wasn't going to happen either. Kess began to work up a speech of 'respectful disagreement' with which she could address the Captain over breakfast and point out her conflicting orders to the man.

_I'll fix the couch first thing in the morning._                        

Kess blinked, her mouth opened to say it until she noticed it wasn't her conscious mind that was thinking it. She had to think hard to check her opinions on the matter again. Giving so fast wouldn't solve anything. She didn't have a problem fixing the couch, but she _had_ to address the repair list with Captain Solo first—

"What?" Solo asked.

Kess looked up, now wondering if she had said something after all, but Solo was looking at Skywalker, and Skywalker was slyly watching her.

The corners of Skywalker's mouth started to curl upward, "Nothing, Han. Never mind."

Kess watched the Jedi return his eyes to his plate, content with himself, and began eating his dinner again. She watched him warily for a moment, insulted, but unsure why, until his eyes flicked back her way with a smirk.

Kess dropped her fork. "Did you do that?"

He nodded and returned his eyes to his own plate again.

Kess made sure her voice sounded offended, "Why?"

Skywalker didn't seem to care. He glanced at her with pride as he picked up his glass, "To see if you'd fall for it."

Kess swallowed hard on her attitude, but realized that she wasn't quite sure of the outcome, "Did I?"

Humored, Skywalker smiled wide, "No, you didn't."

She couldn't decide if she should feel proud or offended. Her brother never played tricks like that on her, but Nik probably didn't know how. Why would the Commander want her to fix the couch so badly? Was he was just avoiding an argument over dinner?

In a way, Kess did feel proud. Maybe she wasn't unarmed after all and not all of his tricks were going to work on her. Her mind wandered off to memories of that time when she and Nik tried to Jedi Mind Trick dad into giving up the speeder password so they could take a joy ride...

And that night in the casino with friends, a thoughtful flick of her wrist not only rolled a winning pair but also splashed purple liquor on the guy next to her...

And that all those times she tried to move pencils with their mind instead of doing homework...

Kess smirked at herself, shook her head free of it all, and turned her mind back to reality. She ignored the continued treaty discussion and hung out in her bunk to read up on hyperdrive systems.

##### XXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

Luke got up from the game table and stretched. "I'll research more on those Usak rights. I don't want to form a plan until we understand exactly what they're asking for."      

"You're right," Leia sighed away a yawn. "We'll look at it again in the morning." She started to put away her reference material but slowed when she saw a far away look on his face. "Are you all right?"

Luke blinked from his daze and moved quickly to join her in the clean up. "Yeah. Just tired."

Leia's eyebrow rose, watching him.

When the wave of deviousness alerted his senses, Luke looked up again to find Leia's deliberately innocent eyes. She shrugged off his stare. "What?"

Luke eyed her and grinned. She wouldn't tell him what she was up to even if he held a blaster to her head. Luke let it drop. "Nothing. Good night."

"Good night, Luke." Leia kissed him on the cheek and shuffled out the starboard corridor.

Luke watched her go. She was always trying to take care of him; trying to make him feel less lonely. Most of the time, it worked. Warmed that his sister noticed an emotion out of place (and still warmed that he actually _had_ a sister) he strolled down the dark corridor to his naked bunk and pulled out a short stack of bed linens.

Down the corridor, Kess' bunk light poured into the dark passageway. For a moment, he didn't want to disturb the Lieutenant's late night reading.

But a moment later, he did.

Eyes turned back down the dark hall. His hands tossed the folded sheets onto the naked mattress. Luke stepped toward the other bunk and slowed his feet when the sleeping body came into view. She showered away the grease and dirt from her day's work and changed into a set of exercise clothes. Her hand still held a datapad on her stomach.

Courteously avoiding contact, he slid the datapad from her fingers and set it on the bunk's inside shelf. Fingertips traced the inside metal border until he found the switch, but he paused before switching off the light.

In all that time he watched her, he rarely saw what she looked like. Watching someone through the Force was remarkable because he could only see events from the subject's perspective. Unless she was looking in a mirror and Luke was watching her at that moment, he could not see her face. Kess rarely looked in a mirror outside her morning routine, and Luke respectfully did not invade her private moments, so he caught a glimpse of her face only a handful of times.

Besides, it didn't matter what she looked like.

As he took a moment to take in her features, the sleeping woman looked too innocent and juvenile to have the gumption required of a Jedi. Luke grinned at that thought. From what little he saw in his Force-aided observations, he already knew her better than that.

Juvenile? Absolutely.

But, _innocent_?

Not hardly.

Luke smirked at her sleeping face and switched off her light. He strolled back to his bunk, making his bed as he put his mind back to business.

With Kesselia's long grown desire to be a Jedi, it would be just plain mean to tease her with the idea until he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she was Force-sensitive enough to be trainable. He had a few more ideas how to test that, but remembering her retort from his first try at dinner, he worried about pushing her too far. That which could be misconstrued as Jedi 'pranks' might drive her to the dark side before her training even began.

But he then remembered moments when he saw that little temper of hers. The most she ever got to being truly angry was throwing a tool at a wall or flipping off her boss when the man's back was turned. As Luke changed and rolled into the bed, he considered how he might take advantage of this disagreement between her and Han as a pre-training test on managing anger.

That would require a bit of a façade with her at first, and he considered the morality of a Jedi Master (albeit, briefly and mildly) pretending to be something he wasn't. Luke angled his head against the pillow.

And laughter splashed across his face that he had to fight to keep his own voice down.

Shining bright in the unlit bunk, Luke whispered to no one. "You should be thanking the Force you got me instead of Yoda."

##### XXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

Luke had already been awake a full hour to work out and take a shower by the time Han and Leia emerged with groggy 'good mornings'. Chewie strolled in from his night watch shortly thereafter following the scent of breakfast. Quiet talk of the plan of the day drifted to the red beaches of the Frakkan System. The family was in the middle of breakfast by the time Han noticed their tagalong was still missing.

Luke detected Han's mood change just the Captain barked at the port corridor. "She must think she's on vacation!"

Luke patted the air at Han, "She fell asleep reading last night. She probably hadn't set an alarm."

Han dropped his fork and began to rise, "That's no reason to let her sleep in."

"She's already awake," Luke could sense Kess' location on the ship without effort. "She just got out of the shower."

Han leaned hard over the table to shout at Luke instead. "Look, kid. It's my repair engineer. Stop defending her."

Luke blinked back. _Defending her?_ He opened his mouth to argue but stopped short when he sensed her hurried approach.

The Lieutenant swiftly zipped up clean coveralls as she rushed into the bay. "I'm sorry, Skipper," she gathered long dry hair in both hands and began a sloppy braid. "I fell asleep reading and forgot to set my alarm."

Luke turned down the glint in his eye to avoid Han's glare.

Han resumed eating and snapped, "Must have been a good book."

"Hyperdrive motivator systems," Kess admitted and turned to the kitchen for her own plate. "I thought I'd get a head start."

Han's voice sliced through the air. "How are hyperdrive motivator specs going to help you fix a couch?"

The Force spiked from two new directions. Luke peeked to see Kess across the bay, her brows knitted and mouth tight, his insult churning inside her Force Print like a volcano about to blow. But Luke's senses drew him to try another guarded peek in the other direction. Leia aimed her brown daggers to the back of Han's head like she was about to reach out and deck him.

_That's right,_ Luke thought, _Han promised Leia the Falcon would get its overhaul._            

Kess' voice was controlled, "Captain, you said-"

"I said we'd talk about it!" Han shouted. "I also said you weren't touching any critical systems in hyperspace!"

All Kess' effort went to keeping her mouth shut. She returned her uneaten breakfast to the counter and left it there. "Yes. Sir." She marched fast out of the bay to disappear down the port corridor.

As though that weren't enough of an incident, Leia started in with a sharp tone. "You told me she would be repairing the systems that would risk out ETA!"

Han jumped to a defensive tack, "We can't bring down any critical systems in hyperspace or we _won't_ make it there on time. She's only here _in case_ something goes wrong."

Luke slunk out of his seat and took his empty plate to the kitchen. Chewie quickly followed him, both rushing to remove themselves from Leia's blast radius. But Leia took the opportunity to get up from the table as well.

Halfway across the bay, Leia turned and angled her head at her husband. "And what if we miss the three-hour window? We are walking right into the Empire's back door and the _Falcon_ is in no shape for another firefight." Gesturing madly, Leia turned to return her plate to the kitchen as she vented.

Luke stepped deeper into the galley to get out of Leia's way, but she stopped at the hatch and blocked his path to escape. Chewie hooted a quiet good night and turned to disappear down the starboard corridor, leaving Luke alone with the marital argument.

Han turned sideways on the bench and whined, "We've gotten out of worse situations, honey."

Leia slammed her empty mug on the counter. "BARELY!"

Han closed his mouth and gave her guarded, puppy eyes. Leia glared at him a long, punishing minute before turning to storm out to the cockpit.

After a moment, Luke crept out of the kitchen and grinned at the Captain now scratching his head in perturbed defeat.

Han caught the grin and snapped. "What?"

And Luke couldn't help but laugh lightly about it. Poor Han managed to infuriate both women before breakfast was even over. "You sure have a way with women, don't you?"

Han picked up his plate and grinned cockily at Luke, "Odd words coming from a guy who can't even get a date."

Luke lowered a humble grin and shrugged.


	13. LL1 12 Attitude Adjustment

** LL1      12         ** ** Attitude Adjustment **

The silence of the cargo bay after breakfast brought Luke to want to power up Threepio just to have someone to talk to. Han had been in the cockpit with Leia for over an hour and Lendra was still hiding in the bowels of the ship. The tension distracted Luke from his homework trying to interpret Frakkan's Usak request and his Force senses only augmented the bitterness of everyone on board.

The Lieutenant seemed to calm down only a little when she emerged with a datapad in one hand and a tool bag in the other. Luke noted the way her long braids were rolled up behind her ears _like the way Leia had her hair on Endor_ , Luke thought, _when it was all over_. A sour taste filled his mouth at the memories of Endor, despite the event being the birth of the New Alliance and the establishment of their independence holiday, Victory Day.

Hard prickles of Kess' aggravation poked at his Force senses and distracted him from his reverie. Acting as if she didn't notice he was there, she plopped down in front of the couch with her tool bag with clatters and thuds. Luke watched out of the corner of his eye as she unscrewed the console of the repulsor couch and pulled out a heavy hand tool.

The woman might have had a right to be angry at Han, she was going to have to learn a little patience and Han was giving her good practice, so Luke let her be. Trying to ignore her, he touched the spot in his emotions that always calmed him down and returned his eyes to the datapad.

**...no Usak reported in recorded history as per Republic monitor 66832ADY. However, the monitor was disabled at the rise of the Palpatine Empire and has not been re-established...**

_It wasn't re-established when Palpatine fell because we haven't won back the Frakkan System yet_.

 _When Palpatine fell..._     

 _Victory Day..._    

Victory Day was a day of mourning and celebration at the same time. He could not feel the same high-hearted victory on Endor as the others because his losses were tallied up for him that day. Obi-Wan was dead. Yoda was dead. His father was dead. He was the last living Jedi in the galaxy. Leia was, in fact, his sister, and everybody knew it, especially Han.

For that first Victory Day on Endor and the few Victory Days since, Luke attended the ceremony and went to the carnival on occasion, but while everyone else was cranking up for the elevated rowdiness after the fireworks, Luke always ended up finding a dark, lonely corner in which he could celebrate, and mourn, the victory alone.

A loud bang interrupted his digression. He saw the woman pulling away a large wrench and peer into the couch's arm console.

Kesselia spent the last Victory Day with a few friends, Luke remembered. He looked in on her shortly after the ceremony, when she and three others were returning to the carnival. Her friends talked about drinking and partying and men, but Kesselia seemed to be only a sad tagalong to the whole thing. She legitimately tried to get into the festivities with everyone else but didn't entirely succeed. There was a loss in her soul muddying things up, something that was augmented by the holiday. Luke didn't need an explanation. Having served in the Alliance for five years of civil war, Luke would have been surprised if she _didn't_ know someone who died in battle.

Hopefully, the conflict would soon be over. Luke sighed in silent prayer and forced himself back to his homework.

**...However, the monitor was disabled at the rise of the Palpatine Empire and has not been re-established. The prophecy of the Usak appears only in Frakkan Religion, although similar beliefs can be found in Lannik scripture, the late Sharu Empire of Tund, and the Sith Prophets—**

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

Luke blinked hard, truly annoyed now, and looked up to find Kess banging on the console over and over. Luke put down his datapad and crossed his arms. He opened his mouth to remind her that patience was a virtue, even with equipment, when the repulsor couch began to rise upward.

The woman grinned with perverse satisfaction and stood on her knees to meet the repulsor control now floating a little too high. She grinned wider as she adjusted the couch's height.

Luke blurted, "You fixed it by _banging_ on it?"

Kess slammed the console hatch shut and stood. "It just needed a little attitude adjustment." She sat down on the now perfectly-heightened couch and crossed her ankles on the deck.

Luke watched her grow cocky. _It's not the only thing around here that needs an attitude adjustment_.

"How long are we going to be in hyperspace?"

"We arrive the day after tomorrow," he answered. "Why?"

She checked her fingernails and fidgeted with one that was split. "Because I might as well take a couple of days off until we get there. Artoo Detoo can fix all the stuff the Captain's been giving me."

Luke leaned back in the booth. This was the first time he heard anyone complain that things were slow. They were, after all, at _war_. His tone dripped with sarcasm, "Are you getting bored?"

She nodded passionately in complaint, "Yes. Sir. I. Am. I'm a Deck Supervisor for Gold Group for cryin' out loud. I would hope that I'm a little better engineer that not to be trusted with anything more than a repulsor couch and a hypo-shower." Her chin rocked back and forth.

Luke pinched the bridge of his nose. She might have had a right to be upset with Han about the repairs but, if she was trying to get on anybody's good side, she was going about it _all_ the wrong way. What happened to the shy Lieutenant who nervously tacked a 'sir' at the end of every sentence? Aggravated that he couldn't get through the homework he needed to, Luke huffed with impatience and stared at her for a long minute…

Kess met his gaze with piggish resolve until she focused on the face that was glaring back at her and suddenly remembered to whom she was speaking. _Oh crap!_ Kess withered like a dying flower under that glare.

Abruptly, the Jedi slid out of the bench seat and popped to his feet. "Come here."

Kess cussed at herself as he passed her. She bit her lips shut and grimaced at the punishment she was about to receive.

From the secondary terminal behind her, Skywalker repeated it with impatience, "Come here."

Kess chomped down her jaw and pushed reluctantly to her feet. Skywalker sat energetically in the chair at the diag console and tapped rapidly at the keyboard. As Kess stepped cautiously over, her curiosity flooded out her fear until she was looking at the screen over his shoulder.

_He's not giving me the ship's schematics, is he?_

She glanced down at the man sitting in the chair like he was about to launch right back to his feet. Irritation seemed to vibrate from his shoulders. He appeared to be in some kind of rush to get her out of his hair. Kess eyed the screen warily. _He wouldn't override the Captain's order..._

 _…Would he?_     

She stood behind his chair and watched until the screen popped up in big red letters.




The Commander then stood and swiveled the chair to her. "Sit," he ordered, his voice Commander-firm.

Dumbfounded, Kess sat down. Sheepishly, she watched him as his hard eyes search a cluttered cubby. He found a datacard, plugged it in, and swiveled the other seat around to face hers from the left. His arm reached onto the keyboard in front of her so his index finger could punch up a singular file. A schematic loaded onto the screen: A crystal. An oscillator. A pommel. A hilt.

Kess looked closer.

Skywalker leaned one elbow hard on the countertop to flick a gesture at the screen with an order, "Make me a harmless lightsaber."

Brown eyes stretched sideways to the powerful and potentially dangerous man now sitting down next to her with a glare of intolerance. Kess worked to gather her nerves, careful not to make any quick moves, and dragged her eyes back to the program to follow his order.

The Commander rested his cheek on his fist as he stared at her. "Why do you want to learn how to use one?"

"I don't." Kess tried to watch him without turning her head. "This was Lokey's idea, not mine."

His tone soured. "Can I give you a little piece of advice?"

Eyebrows lifted into her forehead. "Sure?"

He leaned a notch closer, demanding her gaze, and lowered his voice to just above a whisper. "Never lie to a Jedi."

Kess gulped, staring in fear until he backed up again. She conjured a measly answer. "I guess fencing's getting boring?"

"How long have you been fencing?"

"A few months."

His blue eyes narrowed again.

"About a year," she corrected herself.

His brows softened, accepting that.

 _Going to have to test this gray area of what lies he can detect and what lies he can't,_ she thought, _or this trip is going to get very uncomfortable, very fast._                        

Kess gathered her wits and shut down all that stuff about her brother, her grandfather, all the teasing the girlies inflicted, and shoved it into a deep dark space in the back of her mind so he wouldn't detect any of it enough to ask. The last thing she needed was to get into a debate with _him_ about why she couldn't afford to train as a Jedi...

With his eyes, Luke watched her expression remain entirely calm while, with his Force senses, he detected her deliberately sucking all her fears and hopes into a hiding spot. She was still afraid of him, even if she was doing better at pretending not to be. This training could not happen if the woman was afraid of him, but more so, Luke was growing weary of getting this reaction from every new person he met.

She focused on the screen and the gears began to turn in her head. The project distracted her from herself. Her mood floated back up with the fun of solving a puzzle.

Luke kept his senses secretly open and watched her.

She squinted, "You can fit all that into the hilt?"

"Mm-hm." Luke watched as her fear subsided for the sake of an engineering project. Her attitude was all but gone. It was funny how fixing stuff, engineering stuff, or flying stuff made a fantastic distraction from your own conflicts.

Luke grinned inwardly. _Been there and done that._

"How big is the hilt?"

After working with tiny fencing swords, it was no surprise she felt a lightsaber hilt seemed cumbersome. "Two-handed, not one-handed," he uttered.

Luke recognized the weight of the object hanging from his belt where it always was, but _he_ didn't need to look at it. The whole idea of her asking for the schematic was so she would have a working design to study. _So now that there is a lightsaber in this very room_... Sooner or later, her fears would have to wane enough to ask to see it for herself.

Luke waited.

"Adegan crystal?" she read aloud. "I thought you use Ilum crystals?"

Luke's brows jumped to his forehead. "Some do," he answered calmly, hiding his alarm. "My first one was made with an Ilum crystal."

Her eyes returned to the screen and angled sideways to trace a circuit. "What color was the blade?"

"Blue," his cheek leaned deeper into his fist.

"What color is that one?"

"Green," he said quicker. _Just ask to see it._

Kess glanced nervously over, detecting his impatience, but dragged her mind away again without comment. Her focus dove back into the schematic, then, curiously, "What kind of crystal makes a red blade?"

"Taxan crystals." Luke dropped his gaze, " _Don't_ make them with Taxan crystals."

Her eyes flicked over. "O-okay."

Luke brought his eyes back up just in time to see her turning her attentions back to the screen. Her fingers tapped up a calculator on the subscreen and she was punching in data. "How long is it?"

Luke gave in with a whine. "Why don't you just ask to see the darn thing?"

She looked at him like he was crazy.

Luke flopped his left hand out on the desktop to gesture at the ridiculousness of all this.

"Er," she stuttered, trying to keep her eyes from the object resting by his lap, "Okay. Um… can I—

**_SNAP-VROOM!_ **

In the time it took her to blink, the saber was in his right hand on the desktop between them and ignited in a full metre of glowing, green-white power.

Comically, the woman jumped like she saw a spider. She grabbed her heart and tried not to chuckle as she hissed a cuss word at him. An odd delight spiked inside Luke to watch the charm light up in her eyes in spite of herself. Luke enjoyed the humor of this as he watched the woman catch her breath.

She kept his eyes with amused anger and carefully slid her hand out to his on the desktop. Her fingers gingerly closed around his fingers on the hilt and Luke realized she was doing this to guard his grip from 'accidentally' tipping the blade the direction of her head.

Kess dared an insult at him, "Show-off."

" _Show-off?_ " he crooned in offense but his smirk gave him away. He thumbed off the lightsaber until it shrunk into nothing **_Zhhissss_** and started to pull the hilt away with a shrug, "Well if you're gonna be that way about it—

Quickly, her hand gripped around his to keep it from escaping.

Luke paused… and found her eyes again.

"Fine," she peeped, "You're a show-off, _sir_."

With an easy smile, Luke flipped the hilt sideways and opened his palm, kindly letting her have it.

She gave him one last glaring glint as she pulled the hilt in front of her and shifted her attentions to study the thing.

Luke watched her. She was no longer monitoring him fearfully out of the corner of her eye. Kess was relaxing around him. Finally. He wondered what changed. "Pretty bold words for someone who was scared of me before."

Her eyes darted to him, but dropped back down to the hilt in her hand. "I wasn't scared. I was…" she raised her chin as she thought how to word it, "respectfully nervous about meeting a living legend."

He scoffed, dropping his gaze. "One lucky shot on the Death Star does not make me a living legend."

She murmured at the hilt in her hands. "There is no such thing as luck."

Luke's eyes popped back up. She didn't seem to notice her own comment. A new smile crossed his lips.

"One, love," she said with a grin. "Your serve."

"What's this?" His eyes sparkled. "Verbal fencing?"

She turned back to the schematic, "Something like that. One point every time you make the other go speechless, the first one with four points wins."

Luke worked not to smile. "I see."

He watched her brown eyes narrow at the chassis until she squinted one eye shut and tightened her grip on the pommel. It was weird to see his lightsaber in someone else's hands. He collected his breath and suspected one of his mentors from beyond was reminding him that training could wait no longer. For a moment, he fretted over the next step.

And the next moment, Luke blinked to find his lightsaber crumbling to pieces in her palms.

She set the pommel on the desktop and knocked the hilt against the heel of her hand. The powercell fell into her fingers. She squinted at the guts inside the cylinder and squinted back to the terminal screen. Thoughts buzzed with calculations until her brown eyes lit up. "Why don't you just stick in a dummy load between the generator and this oscillator? It'll suck out the heat of the blade but…" She tapped a finger on her lower lip, "don't know that it would still be solid though."

Luke watched her.

Kess gave him a timid double take.

But Luke began to glare on purpose, "I thought it was my serve?"

A smile spread slowly across her mouth.

He held the stare another moment until he let himself smirk, "So why don't you just stick a dummy load between the generator and the oscillator?"

She opened her mouth in retort but no words came out. Her cheeks went pink.

"One, one." Luke's leaned over and plucked the hilt out of her hands. "Your serve."

Her hands clambered through the air as the toy escaped. "That's not fair!"

"You made the rules." Luke's hair fell into his eyes as he worked the powercell back into place.

"Wait," she squealed, "but you said I could see it!"

Luke half-whined and half-laughed as he scrambled to put the thing back together. "I didn't think you were going to take it apart!"

They both heard the cockpit hatch slide open and close again, but they both ignored it. Kess turned in her chair to him. "Come on, let me see it some more."

Luke stood from his chair, checking the hilt up and down; making sure the pommel was on nice and tight. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught her big brown eyes begging up at him.

Guarded, he met her gaze.

Her smile flashed, ear-to-ear and beyond, like a little kid begging to play. "Pleeaassee?"

Luke shined down at this woman now acting like a pup wagging her tail for the ball. He hooked the hilt back on his hip where it belonged and met her gaze hard. He tried to be cold and firm in his order but his eyes shined with hidden meaning, " _Make your own_."

Kess' lower lip puffed out but she accepted his answer and turned back to the terminal.

Watching her back a moment longer to see if she'd get it his double entendre (she didn't) he finally faced down the approaching couple and spread his hands at his sister, "Are you ready to work on this treaty yet?"

Leia's forehead wrinkled at Luke's laughing smile… of _impatience_ … over a _treaty_ … and stepped cautiously to the table, "Um, sure?"

Luke followed Leia to the table and Han passed by him to the console where Kess was still sitting. As Luke prepared to sit down again, he turned his eyes back to see what was up.

Han flatted a palm on the desktop by Kess, locked his elbow, and started rummaging for a datacard in a drawer.

"Take a look at the hyperdrive motivator first." Han slapped a card on the desktop in front of her and stormed away with a strong voice. "I want to see some suggestions by the end of the day."

Kess' eyes popped out of her head. "Yes, sir," she murmured. She looked over her shoulder to Luke as if only to share her shock with someone. Her expression was clear: _Guess the highnessness won the argument._         

Luke gave her a grin of assurance, almost winking back agreement. _She usually does._

 

 

 

 

           

 

 

 

 


	14. LL1 13 Ship's Schematics

** LL1 13 Ship's Schematics **

Kess was in that same chair the entire day, happy to get to work on what she came for, but racked her brain to understand the modifications she found on the hyperdrive schematic. She noticed some good ideas and started her own set of notes to take back to Gold Group for future reference, but she saw a lot of bad ideas too. Many short cuts of cross wiring made no sense at all, and one of them was probably the cause of the Councilor's hyperdrive remark just before take off.

Engrossed in electronics all day, she rarely came out of her haze to overhear the treaty discussion at the table. She didn't understand most of it. They kept going back to a term called 'Usak rights', which was a mystery to Kess. What she did pick up was that the Frakkan System was under Imperial rule, and the Councilor and Commander were invited under the utmost secrecy to come and talk about what the New Alliance could offer the system. The Councilor was determined to get a hold of the Frakkan System because the Alliance desperately needed their propulsion recourses, and the Commander kept refusing to give them Usak rights.

The Captain rarely joined the conversation, but seemed to have just as complex political garble to say. Kess once paused to listen and hid a grin at the terminal. All these years of watching them on the vid, the trio turned out to be real people, just like she'd hoped, and yet, at the same time, they were still predicable politicians, just like she feared.

The entire day passed her by unnoticed until the Captain's voice interrupted her train of thought. She shook her head back to reality and turned the swivel chair to give them her attention, "I'm sorry?"

Solo barked, "Your report?"

Kess quickly gestured to beg for more time, "Give me... twenty more minutes?"

Solo shook his head, "Chewie's going to be up in ten, and he wakes up hungry."

What did the Wookiee's eating habits have to do with her report? "Sir?"

"Dinner?" Han reminded her impatiently, "It's your turn to cook."

"Oh!" She glanced at the screen long enough to initiate a save of her work and dashed to the kitchen to make dinner...

 _Time for another test._ Luke's eyes watched the woman dash for the galley. _Hear me this time._

Luke kept his eyes on the datapad in front of him but his peripheral vision watched her browse indecisively in the pantry. Having seen the contents when he made lunch, he knew exactly what haphazard box meals were in there. Maintaining his stare on the datapad and his mouth shut, he spoke out clearly to her on the Force. _Sulferian meat sticks._

Leia's puzzled eyes flicked to him.

Luke quickly met her gaze, winked, and returned his eyes to the datapad.

Leia's eyebrows lifted with possible understanding. She secretly watched the galley too.

Lounging crookedly in the bench, Han's eyes flicked from his datapad to Leia and struck dumb. "What?"

Leia shook her head in silence and yanked her eyes back to work until Han's attention drifted away, but she peeked again too soon.

Han tossed the datapad on the table with a clatter. " _What_!"

Luke tightened his smiling face and closed his eyes. _Dammit Han, you're gonna blow my cover._ So far, Lendra didn't notice. She was busy in the kitchen, gathering pans and closing a panel with her elbow.

Leia hissed through tight teeth, "Han, shut up and find the reference."

Han rolled his eyes and picked up his datapad again.

Leia turned her eyes to Luke, flicking to Lendra's back and quizzed him in silence.

Luke secretly slid his eyes to Lendra and back to Leia, granting his sister a devious nod. He whispered it on the Force again. _Sulferian meat sticks._

Leia blossomed with optimism but she expertly shut down her expression the moment Lendra carelessly turned their way.

Luke and Leia shared a secret grin and waited…

Kess prepared the meal in a hurry, not wanting to upset the two-metre-tall garbage disposal before his night watch. As she sauced up the green pasta with ease, the memory of her mom's Sulferian meat sticks invaded her taste buds. She never tried to make the Tatooine dish from scratch like her mom used to, but she couldn't eat the manufactured box brand because of her allergy to the seagan spice they always put in the mix.

That meant she hadn't had the dish since her mom died, eight years now, and for no good reason, she suddenly craved the desert-dweller, poor-man supper. She would have given it a try tonight if they had all the ingredients to make it from scratch. The box stuff was sure to have seagan spice in it.

Green pasta with a white sauce would have to do. She hadn't seen any chef's works come out of the other three yet, so she wasn't worried about the famous trio being picky eaters…

Luke exhaled a sigh of defeat when she put the plate of pasta in front of him, but he thanked her politely. He poked his fork at the pasta and sighed again before noticing a supporting sparkle in Leia's eye.

Leia's brow shrugged to say, _**I** heard you._

Luke flashed a full smile. He already knew Leia could hear him. That wasn't the point. He ate quietly as his mind dove back into his notes to scour for more clues.

After supper, Luke sat alone on the repulsor couch rereading a section of Jedi records he had memorized by now and collected more datacards next to him on the cushion. He decided he didn't want her to start learning how to use a lightsaber whether it was fake or not unless she could learn to do it right, Force and all. But he had no way of confirming she was Force-sensitive and was running out of ways to test it without calling her on it outright.

Supposedly, her grandfather went to the Academy, but she had not yet admitted that to Luke directly, much less prove that she was actually a descendent of a Jedi. Still squeamish about training someone so soon after his own graduation, he even considered not training her at all.

Luke snuck a glance at the woman busily tapping at the terminal. The last thing he wanted was to see was her temper with a red lightsaber.

In a burst of activity, Kess jumped out of the swivel chair and frisbeed a datacard into Luke's lap the same time she stood at attention at the table and offered another to Han.

Han tucked away his drink glass to take the datacard. Huffing to sit up, he reached for the nearest datapad to plug in her homework.

Luke picked up the new card off his lap and grinned to pry out the Jedi records so he could see her results. "What kind of crystal did you use?"

"Adegan crystals, Commander," she said as if having expected the question. "But the dummy load is going to affect the photon output anyway. It'll look more white than green."

The schematic popped up on the little screen. "At least we'll be able to tell them apart." Part of Jedi training was to design your own lightsaber, true, but records indicated it was done after the apprentice completed all other training. Here was Lendra designing one before she even started.

"No, this won't work," Han blurted.

Her smile fell to fear, "What?"

Han was shaking his head and pointing at the datapad, looking at Kess like she was insane. "You can't separate the opto-electric systems from the paralight system."

"Why not," she shot back, stepping back to him. "The signals from your paralight systems are screwing up your alluvial dampers. The way it's wired now, you should be blowing your power couplings every time you send a manual command to your hyperdrive."

She saw Han's forehead wrinkle, so she explained further, patiently, like a condescending teacher. "You've got to separate the opto-electric streams or the alluvial dampers are going to try to follow the manual commands before they get to your hyperdrive motivator. The motivator won't catch up in time and your dampers will blow their couplings right off the manifolds trying to turn the ship by itself. You'll stay in hyperspace until you _come out_ of hyperspace, but then you'll be stuck where you stand 'cause your damper couplings will be _fried_."

The technical speech only deepened Han's frown and attracted the stiffened attention of Luke, Leia, Chewie, and Artoo. They all waited cautiously for Han's explosive reply.

"Probably the negative power couplings too." Lendra added and slowly touched a tongue on her teeth to realize it. "Which is probably why you have a crate full of spares in the stock compartment, huh?"

Artoo whistled a cat call. Leia bit her lips together and hid her forehead with her hand. Chewie leaned back in the chair, setting his foot out with a thump on the deck. He angled his head at Han and hooted a sentence.

Luke saw all this out of the corner of his eyes before he closed them entirely, praying in his mind for Han to keep his cool.

Han's voice started in a forced, evil calm but rose to a shout as his sentence progressed. "What you _obviously_ failed to notice was that the motivator doesn't _have_ its own decoder. The signals _have_ to go through the opto-electrics for its decoder or the alluvial dampers won't get the signals AT ALL!"

Lendra innocently debated back. "Why don't you just slap in another decoder in the motivator?"

Han finally blew up, "BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ANOTHER DECODER!"

Lendra took a shaky step backward.

He spat sarcasm at her, "You didn't happen to bring a T10-38 with you, did you?"

Kess clenched her teeth, "No, sir."

Han slapped the table, "Well, there you have it." He pushed the datapad back in her direction. "Find another way to do it."

Lendra's eyes narrowed as she snatched the card out of his hand. Her teeth were tight. "Yes, sir." Strolling with uncertainty back to the diag console, she fiddled with the datacard until she found Luke watching her shyly from the couch.

A volcano of embarrassment erupted in her throat. She turned her back to them all, tossing Han's datapad to clatter against the console, and disappeared down the corridor.

Chewie growled something indignant to Han.

"Well, she should have notice it if she's such a hotshot engineer," Han argued him back.

Luke tried to ignore them and brought the datapad back to his sights. He saw the schematic of the lightsaber and remembered what he was studying and why.

The woman needed to learn how to keep her temper whether she was Force-sensitive or not.

An idea sprouted in his mind. He tapped a thumb thoughtfully on his hilt as the idea formed into a plan. Opting to use this event to his advantage, Luke tossed his datapad aside and followed her into the back of the ship.

 


	15. LL1 14 Luke's Third Degree

** LL1 14 Luke's Third Degree **

His pace slowed when he saw her, just in time to watch her vigorously throw a hand tool against the bulkhead.

She saw him coming and turned away, trying to contain her frustration. She crossed her arms tightly at her chest and shifted her weight at him. "Why am I here?"

Luke slowed his feet and stopped. "What do you mean?"

She huffed, "Commander Tolgray said I was requested by name for this job. I want to know who requested me and why."

Luke couldn't ignore that she was splitting at the seams, nor that her query was legitimate, but even though Luke had a good reason to get her on board, it certainly wasn't him. Unsure how to proceed, Luke shifted his eyes at her. "Which one is Commander Tolgray?"

Kess scratched her eyebrow, "Group Commander for Gold Group. It's hard for them not to have me there, y'know?"

He sensed the emotions buzzing from her. Frustration, anger, confusion, and other dark emotions wove together like a blanket, shrouding whatever light she had underneath. He made it sound like a question without asking one. "You have an important position with Gold Group."

"Depends on your point of view," she spat, "I just keep the rotting pilots in the sky." She broke out in new anger, shouting passed him down the corridor toward the main bay. "And it wouldn't be such a task if these cocky-ass pilots would listen to their engineers once in a while!"

Luke casually crossed his arms and dropped his shoulder to the bulkhead. He bit away a grin, "Once in a while, _we do_."

Kess gave him a double take, huffed, and slumped against a panel. "No offense, _Commander_."

Luke settled with wisdom and gave her a deep, kind smile. "You need to relax."

Kess curled her nose and squeaked at him, "We're walking into Imperial Territory and he won't let me fix what I can—

"Find your peace," he interrupted softly. "Anger is on the dark side."

Kess rattled her head and pried open her eyes with disbelief. "I'd rather be on the dark side than _dead_! If he tries to send a manual command to the hyperdrive we'll be stranded in BFN!" She waved a hand up the corridor until she realized what she had just said—

Luke watched her eyes come back to him. Her brows slanted hard and her mouth twitched for a way to back-pedal her statement.

Luke almost grinned at her reaction, "I wouldn't be taking the dark side so lightly if I were you."

Kess bleated at him again. "It doesn't matter whether _I_ take it lightly or not." The whole idea was absurd. "I'm not a Jedi."

Luke lifted a not-so-ignorant brow. "Tell me again why you want to learn how to use a lightsaber?"

Brown eyes grew big. Panic scrambled within her response. "I-I told you, fencing—"

Luke nodded at the deck and shifted his weight, "Yeah, I heard that one already, Kesselia."

Her eyes tightened; her tone small. "What did you just call me?"

But Luke wasn't done. "There's more to lightsabers than sparring practice. I'm not letting you guys use the design unless you're going to try to do it right. If all you want to do is beat the stuffing out of each other use PVC pipe."

Kess struggled to keep up. "Yeah, I'm— you're right. I'm sorry." She sighed heavily and rubbed her brow with sincerity at him. "I meant no offense."

Now, Luke was secretly kicking his own butt for letting her real name slip. This was not turning out like he planned at all. "You didn't offend me," he assured, "but you still need to learn to calm down."

She stomped her combat boot on the deck and squealed back in a whole new octave, "But he's being so stubborn!"

Luke covered smiling eyes with his palm before whipping his hand in the air in her direction laughing within his own shout. " _So are you_!"

The woman shifted on her boots and wrinkled her mouth, knowing it, but not admitting it, and not apologizing for it.

" _Patience_." Luke gestured two gentle hands in the air, softening his voice and softening his eyes at her. "If you want Han to loosen up and let you into those systems, you're going to have to demonstrate a lot more patience than this… Okay?"

Kess smashed her mouth shut, crossed between listening and exploding all over again. Her eyes glared down the corridor.

After a pause, Luke added. "I also want to hear a better answer out of you about why you want to learn how to use a lightsaber."

Kess defended like a student in the dean's office, "I told you-"

Luke rolled his eyes—

"I'm not lying!" She whined.

He snapped with strength this time. "If fencing's getting so boring then take up gymnastics or something." He motioned to the lightsaber at his hip. "It isn't a toy."

Kess shut her mouth for a moment and then peeped meekly. "But the _duds_ would be."

Luke shut his eyes and collected his own patience.

A smile sprouted inside her threat. "You look me in the eye and try to tell me _you_ wouldn't have fun with them."

But Luke couldn't look at her just yet, not without revealing himself. The thought of having a pair of safe lightsabers and a sparring partner to practice them with made him want to go _play_. Instead, he chomped himself back into discipline and forced his eyes to look displeased when he finally did look at her again. "This is serious."

Apparently, he didn't fool her. She lifted an eyebrow with a quick snicker at his expression but quickly wiped it from her face to force a fake scowl, nodding with all severity to play along, "Yes, sir, mister superhero, _sir_."

Fighting hard to hide his humor, Luke rolled his head and eyeing her with scolding.

Kess whined smiles again, "The lightsaber thing really wasn't my idea. Poco Lokey is the one you should be giving the third degree to."

Luke pulled himself off the bulkhead, "You asked for the schematic, you get the hassle for it. Besides," he lowered his voice and poked a finger at his chest, "you haven't seen my third degree."

When he saw her eyes widen, he was just as surprised at the idle threat that came out of his mouth. It was a typical Han Solo tactic that Luke probably picked up from watching him fight with Leia for so many years. He realized he totally lost control of the conversation and responded with emotions rather than wisdom. He came back her to teach her to calm down, but all it did was wind him up.

Regardless, he wasn't going to let her see him perplexed over it. "Two, one," he said turning. "It's your serve again." Luke quickly removed himself from the corridor.

* * *

The little spat she had with Commander Skywalker echoed in Kess' head more than the row she had with Captain Solo. Not even late night reading could distract her from her buzzing thoughts. Kess finally put away the datapad, switched off the light in her bunk, and listened to the deep bass hum of the Falcon's hyperdrive resonate through the pillow to her ear. The lights were dim for the night and everyone was quiet in their bunks.

_'You haven't seen my third degree.'_

She remembered the look on his face when he said that. It was like he was jumping to a defense about something. Grinning in the dark, she wondered if his 'third degree' had anything to do with a red lightsaber using Taxan crystals.

 _So, the Big Bad Living Legend, Jedi Knight and Destroyer of the first Death Star had an embarrassing secret_ …

But Kess never heard of a politician who didn't.


	16. LL1 15 Free Round of Questions

** LL **1**       15        Free Round of Questions **

Kess popped awake when she heard the **_SNAP-VROOM_** of an igniting lightsaber.

At first she thought it was a dream but the sleep faded quickly to listen to that distinctive hum sizzling in the air as it moved. The Commander must have been practicing. Glancing at her chrono, she winced at the time. She had another hour before she had to get up. She tried to ignore the sound and closed her eyes.

Then she heard tiny blaster shot.

Her eyes popped open again. Two more shots fired and Kess panicked to sit up. She pulled on a pair of coveralls over her nightclothes and tiptoed quickly down the corridor.

With her bare feet cutting on the grated deck, she first reached the Commander's neatly made bunk. Her shoulders relaxed. So he _was_ practicing, with a noisy remote, _at this time of the morning?_ Kess came around the corner of the bay perturbed, crossed her arms at her chest, and rested her weight onto one foot.

Luke smirked inside when his ploy worked. He would have a whole hour to sneak in questions and pry out answers before the others emerged to interrupt. He added to his ploy by dressing in his old Tatooine wear so she wouldn't see him as the Commander and wouldn't drift back to being afraid of him again. He was delightfully surprised to find the old clothes in the _Falcon's_ coffin locker and even happier to find they still fit.

He confidently kept his eyes on the remote and blocked another blast just so she would see him do it. He tucked a side-glance to enjoy her reaction, but he caught that her coveralls were zipped only to her waist, leaving her chest bare.

Luke's eyes shot over as quickly as he blinked at the reality. He sighed in scolding at himself. Only with his direct focus could he see a shirt covering her body under those open coveralls. It was a peach-colored shirt as if intended to camouflage with the rest of her skin, but there _was_ a shirt, nonetheless.

Luke closed his eyes and thumbed off his lightsaber, grinning with secret embarrassment.

"Wow." Her voice groaned with sleep. "I didn't think it was possible for anyone to sneak up on you." She shuffled bare feet to the kitchen and opened up the cupboard.

Luke began to explain that she hadn't, but he bit his words back. He decided it was better for her to believe that than know the truth of his male reaction. Instead, he turned his mind back to the remote, re-igniting his saber and prepared for the attack, now using the exercise to clear away the clutter of his human response.

...Kess listened to his practice as she stared blankly at the brewing pot. Her thoughts were still asleep at the helm until the tiny light glowed amber and woke her attention. After pouring a cup, she strolled into the bay and watched him from the game table.

She had seen people practice with remotes before. The ability to dodge those stinging little blast shots was a requirement at almost every ground combat class in the galaxy but, in the classes Kess attended, they were only _dodging_ the blast shots, not _blocking_ them, and not from only a metre away either. She watched his back as the Jedi blocked shot after shot with ease to the point of looking bored.

She grinned devilishly and sipped her mug. _Yeah, you're just showing off again._

Skywalker took two steps back and switched off his blade, panting from the exercise. "What?"

Kess rested her chin in her open palm, "Does that do any good?"

"Practicing does a lot of good; doesn't matter what you're practicing," he worked to sound wise and rested the silent hilt on his shoulder.

Her eyes narrowed, "No. What I mean is: If you have the remote's sequence memorized, how does it help when a person is shooting at you?"

Luke gave her a grin of assurance. "It's programmed for random blasts. I haven't memorized any sequences." He strolled over and sat down at the table. "So it helps a lot when a person is shooting at me." With weighted eyes, he set the hilt on the table between them, sideways, as if he were offering it to her again.

Kess eyed the hilt and eyed him. She was way too sleepy to be afraid of him right now. She fidgeted with her mug. "You must get shot at a lot."

"I get shot at more than you do." He cracked a smile as he leaned into the table on his elbows, fidgeting the hilt under his palm for a peaceful pause. "I took a close look at your schematic last night."

"And?"

"Looks like it will work. We can pick up the parts on the Frakkan System."

"I'm glad you like it." She raised her mug to toast him. "You are, after all, the last living lightsaber guru."

He seemed reluctant to spoil her day. "You still haven't told me why you want to learn how to use one. I can't give you the schematic back until I know for sure what you and Lokey are up to."

She brightened with sarcasm. "You think I gave you my only copy? I'm gonna patent that baby and make a fortune." She watched him scratch his ear with a sigh of defeat. She slurped her mug with a tease, "Two, two."

Luke sighed, "C'mon, Kess, I'm serious. I can't let your school offer a class unless I know exactly what's going on."

She shrugged the obvious, "Your little adventures have brought them a lot of attention." She motioned to the hilt on the table. Her gaze paused on the object for a second longer than necessary. "Lokey had several people ask about it. He just wants to turn that curiosity into credits, that's all."

"What about you?" His voice was heavy with insinuation.

Kess grinned, "I already take gymnastics."

Luke pressed his mouth with tested patience.

Kess smirked. "And I'm getting pretty bored with that too."

He let the humor die until an uncomfortable silence filled the air. She avoided his eyes again; thoughtlessly rubbing her thumb on the rim of the mug.

Kess knew full well the New Alliance was probably pressuring him to start training sidekicks. She wondered why he was taking so long to pick one. But that was none of her business.

"You have a question for me."

Her eyes shot up.

"Don't you?" He added, making his own statement a question.

Kess cleared her throat and shifted in her seat, "It's— I'm curious about a lot of things. Not just you. I mean—" She halted when her eyes landed on his again. It was an open invitation to ask him anything she wanted. It was an opportunity she just couldn't pass up, yet… _how did he…?_ "Can you read my mind?"

He met her gaze with a grin of honesty, "I don't know. I haven't tried."

Curiosity flooded her brain. Kess leaned in on her elbows, eager for answers. "Then how did you know I wanted to ask you a question?"

Luke rubbed his lips to keep from smiling. His finger motioned easily at her. "I can sense your surface emotions."

Kess panicked. "All the time?"

He fought not to laugh. "Only when I pay attention to them, when you're nearby, and you're not," he crossed his arms at his chest to admit, "stuffing them down your own throat." His brow shrugged a shy grin.

"The Force lets you do that?"

"Surface emotions ride on the Force by themselves, like sound in air. I just know how to open my mind and hear them."

Kess calculated that response. She couldn't hold it back any longer. "How does a Knight move up to a Master?"

He shifted in his seat at the change in questioning. Kess feared he'd shut down, but he answered easily. "There used to be a formal test put on by other Masters, but I'm still studying the formality of the tradition. Why?"

This didn't add up to her. "But there are no Masters left to test you. You're the last Jedi left, right? So how are _you_ going to do it?"

His eyes began to glow. "I will take the title when the time is right… Why?"

Kess cocked her head, "You got to find somebody who's Force-sensitive to take it on as an apprentice first, though, right?" Her eyes squinted at the air. "How do you even _do_ that?"

"By finding someone with a Jedi bloodline," he said conversationally. "Force sensitivity is hereditary."

" _It is_?"

Luke dropped his gaze almost too innocently to the hilt he was fidgeting with. "Do you have a Jedi in your family tree?"

A four-alarm fire went off in Kess' head. She swallowed hard and shut down. "No! Oh, heck no. I just ask because, y'know…" she shrugged and shook her head, faking a smile, "intellectual curiosity."

"Uh-hunh." His tongue played with a molar in the back of his mouth for a split second, but he leaned over the table and eyed her, ready to give up the whole charade. "If you're going to keep lying to me like this, the least you could do is think up better answers."

Kess abruptly closed her mouth. She met his eyes and swallowed, trying to think of something clever and subject changing to say.

"Owe!" Han's voice pierced the bay, "Luke, how many times have I told you to put your toys away." The Captain rubbed his temple and grabbed the remote still hanging in the air.

The Jedi finally broke the stare as if deciding to let her think about it for a while. He muttered in a very quiet, "sorry" as he stood up from the table.

Han handed the kid his remote and raised an eyebrow at Kess, "New uniform?"

Kess looked down and gasped. Her peach shirt was still peeking out of the gaping coveralls. She jumped up and ran out of the bay as though she realized she was naked.

Leia stopped in her tracks holding her mug out to the side to let the other woman speed by.

Han chuckled as blond hair swished around the corner. "I can't keep up with her schedule. Sleep in one day, up with bright-eyes the next." He shoved a thumb in Luke's direction. "She's gonna take some getting used to."

Luke shrugged at Leia, "Don't know about you, but I'm already used to the shower working right."

Han glared at Luke's remark and shifted his eyes to his wife laughing in agreement. As if Chewie were in on the joke with them, the Wookiee stepped in the main cargo bay growling a report of an error in the auxiliary CV-52 filters.

The Captain's shoulders slumped.

 

 

 


	17. LL1 16 My Father is Worse than Yours

** LL1      16        My Father ** ** is Worse than Yours **

Kess made it a point not to think about the Jedi's remark. She was growing tired of trying to guess what the mighty magician was up to and tried to make herself decide that she didn't care.

What she did care about was the stupid CV-52 filter. It took two hours to pull the filter from the auxiliary pumps underneath the deck of the main bay. It took another hour and a half to take it apart, clean it out, fix it, and put it back together. The Captain maintained his watch on the bridge during the filthy process but was available through the commlink just in case something went wrong. Replacing the filter didn't require a lot of brainwork and Kess knew he let her do it only because he didn't want to cram his own body in the tight space for several hours worth of greasy labor.

Kess held up the jagged assembly high over her head with one hand and was able to screw on a single bolt with the other. The twenty-pound assembly rapidly grew heavier. Straining to hold it still, she reached blindly to pick up the next bolt when a water pipe near to the installation point suddenly jerked downward.

Her free hand shot up to catch it. The bolt clattered into the machine works and bounced away. The durasteel pipe was as big around as her thigh and heavier than the filter. A quick glance at the hardware and she realized one of the securing posts she had released to install the filter was securing the pipe as well, but it was the only securing post to hold back the pipe as far as her eyes could see.

Letting go of the filter would make it hang on the single bolt she had screwed on so far, which would risk ripping the filter frame by its own weight.

Letting go of the water pipe… well, Kess wanted to keep her head in the shape it already was.

Then, she glanced at the commlink, turned off, a metre away.

Setting her jaw, she adjusted her tired grip by locking both elbows above her head. She crooned her neck to the open deck panel she could barely see and yelled, "Help!"

She heard no voices and no footsteps. She yelled louder. "HELP!"

"What's the matter?" called Leia's faraway voice.

"I need an extra pair of hands!" Kess cried.

She heard Leia say something and then Luke call out. "Hold on!"

"I'm holding! I'm holding!" she insisted. She heard uneven footsteps as he crawled down to her.

"What happened?" he asked in a regular voice, now squeezing his torso through the tight space between machine works.

"The water main is about to fall on my head."

His eyes took in the situation above them and shoved both palms over his head in a panic. "Not the water."

"Spoken like a true moisture farmer." Kess made sure he had it and turned to pluck up the bolts from her bag. "Your concern for my well-being it truly touching."

His focus was on setting his balance so he could comfortably hold the water main a bit longer. "Yeah, well, you know us farm boys."

Kess came back pushed another bolt onto an empty post, "I see you're dressed the part too."

He glanced at her, "You getting homesick?"

"Homesick?" she bleated in disgust.

He grinned agreement.

"You don't see me living there, do you? No, I only go home to visit when I can't avoid it any longer."

A chuckle rumbled in his chest, calling to her attention just how close his chest was to her face. It was a tight cubbyhole indeed. Kess dug into her tool bag for more bolts to secure the water main.

"Do you have family back home?" He asked.

Kess picked out bolts from the array at the bottom of the bag. "I do, but my father and I don't get along. He doesn't like me having a dangerous job."

Stepping on the bend of a jutting pipe to gain height to the water main, she was now as tall as Skywalker, yet avoided looking him directly in the eye at such close quarters. Somehow, not meeting his gaze made her feel safer from him.

Skywalker furrowed his brow, "Dangerous job?"

"You know, the military." She started screwing on the bolt to secure the water main. "He's lost too many people to the war."

"Oh." He nodded once in understanding and seemed to look beyond the securing post that had his attention. "Maybe he just needs to understand why you do it."

Kess eyed his far away stare until he blinked and looked back at her. She gave him a grin, "Words of experience?"

Skywalker grinned back, looking a little embarrassed. "My father didn't like what I do either. But he managed to accept it before he died."

Kess continued to work but kept a half-eye on his expression. "He didn't like you in the Alliance? Or he didn't like you becoming a Jedi?"

Luke winced to that, "Both." His focus was far away a moment. "But he understood the Jedi part. I don't know if he ever understood the Alliance part... I think he did."

"There. You can let go now," she moved to find more posts to secure. Her movement paused, "Wait. I thought you were raised by your aunt and uncle."

Cautiously, he pulled his hands away from the water main and watched it hang on two bolts above his head. "It's... kind of a long story." Finally, his gaze came back to present with a grin. "It wasn't your traditional father/son relationship."

Kess scoffed. Clearly, Skywalker had no idea the doozies she and her father got into. Since he wasn't even raised by his father, she couldn't imagine his family problems being worse. "Hunh! Did you get into a fight every time you saw him?" She dared, holding out bolts for him to take.

Luke raised an eyebrow at her easy challenge. He took the bolts from her and said, almost smirking at this argument. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I did."

Kess continued cockily, not believing him. "And how often was that?"

He passed a bolt from one hand to the other. He paused to look at his hand before turning to grin back at her, holding up splayed fingers. "I can count how many times I saw my father on _this_ hand."

Kess' brows knitted. Her expression clear: _What does his hand have anything to do with it?_                       

He'd already stepped back and turned to the next empty post. "How often do you see your father?"

"Every couple years," Kess shrugged. "But you _don't know_ my dad. We fight every time I go down there, and they're rollers too. Not just quick tiffs or anything."

Luke fought his smile and spoke with friendly wisdom, "If you're on speaking terms with him, Kess, I'm sure you can talk him into accepting your choice of career."

He sensed it when her mind twitched at the use of her first name but her thoughts quickly went to her father's disposition. She was silent for a minute and finally dropped the sarcasm. "He's just scared for me, that's all. He's lost too many people to the Empire."

Luke finished securing the last post he could find. "See? You already understand his point of view. You're halfway there." He tested the main to see if it would wiggle. It didn't.

She struggled with this for a moment but finally made herself say it. "Luke," if he was going to call her by her first name, she may as well use his. "You _don't know_ my father." She faced him down. "I cannot _fathom_ how yours could've been worse."

Either she was going to be reprimanded for calling him by his first name or he was going to be all-knowing about her father. She braced herself for his reply.

Luke watched her a moment and ducked to step back in from the last securing bolt. "Just trust me on this one, all right?"

"Fine." The subject was closed and she knew it.

Picking up the commlink, Kess broke the stare and switched it on, "Skipper, the filter is mounted. I'd like to take a break before I test it."

The Captain's electronic voice came back, "Sure thing. It's lunch time anyway."

Kess dropped the commlink into the tool bag and packed up. "Maybe one of these days I'll introduce you to my dad and you'll see what I'm talking about."

Luke turned toward the way out. "And maybe, one of these days, I'll introduce you to mine."

She slunk through the tight space behind him, squinting at his back. "I thought you said he was dead."

He stopped at the ladder and shrugged before climbing up, "That's… kind of a long story too."

 


	18. LL1 17 No Letters Home

**LL1         17           No Letters Home**

The vast royal blue of the ocean drifted to a violet and then a mauve before its waves crashed onto a beach of sparkling reddish sand. Even though he stood stories high in the densely populated city erected on the coast, Governor Levilot always found peace looking out over Frakkan's violet ocean.

The thick wall of glass blocked any sound from penetrating his office. He often considered having a windowpane removed so that he could hear the white noise of the surf, but funds were needed elsewhere. From this high up, and his own aged hearing, he probably wouldn't be able to hear the sound that well anyway.

"Governor?" Shuley's respectful voice was behind him.

Levilot inhaled through his nose and snapped his mind back to duty. Shuley stood in front of his desk with her shoulders squared and chin high. Her red hair pulled tight to the top of her head where it sat in a cleanly pinned circle on her head like a halo. She had nothing in her hands, which meant this was a private issue or a confidential issue.

Levilot turned his back on his ocean and sat in the big chair behind his desk.

"We received a report from Mugwot Pon," Shuley reported with steady black eyes. "He reports the New Alliance council team has departed Yavin 4 with ETA of zero one two six tomorrow."

Levilot nodded politely to his newly appointed ambassador. So far, Shuley exceeded in her duties since her promotion, but she still awaited the true test. Shuley's had to impress the treaty team and make them thirst for the Frakkan propulsion industry so badly to make Councilor Organa Solo would give up something she did not entirely understand. It was not an easy task, but not impossible either.

Still, even if Shuley failed with the treaty negotiations, there was a backup plan. Levilot always had a backup plan. If the Alliance wasn't prepared to give the Frakkan System what they needed, Levilot was prepared to take it from them anyway, right under the Princess Leia's nose.

Levilot could not care less who was running the galaxy as long as the stupid lot of them stayed off the Frakkan System.

His swiveled his chair to look out over the purple ocean and pale sky. "Do they have the Usak?"

Shuley patiently clasped her hands behind her back. "Yes."

The Governor's thin lips smiled behind his fingers. Everything was falling into place. The hard part was still yet to come, but so far so good.

"Send a message to Mugwot Pon with my personal 'job well done' and await further orders." He turned around and met Shuley's unblinking eyes. "I want to here about the accommodations in Sultani when you and Daitahn return to my office in two hours." His crisp voice ordered the meeting without room for discussion, but Shuley was used to that.

"Yes, Governor." With an authoritative strut, she turned and left the room.

* * *

Kess hated the way her hair was so bone dry after a hypo shower, but she had only four chances in her lifetime to take a real water shower. Trying to sweep the feathery strands from her face, she dressed in a set of exercise clothes, grabbed a datacard from her bunk, and strolled barefoot into the cargo bay.

They turned on Threepio to pick apart Frakkan protocol with the Councilor. He was standing in front the table, full of power and rambling on in his wimpy accent. Leia's long, chestnut hair moved back and forth across her back as she shook her head at one of the many datapads on the table. Solo sat with her, silently referring to another datapad. Chewbacca glared at the main terminal with giant furry fingers flying across the keys with amazing accuracy. Skywalker sat on the repulsor couch with his feet propped on a piece of Kess' equipment and his lap full of datapads, completely engrossed in something else.

Kess had two choices. Since she didn't want to get involved with the discussion at the table, Kess picked the couch. She leaned her back against the armrest, pulled her feet up to sit sideways, and propped the datapad on her knees.

Skywalker didn't look up so Kess ignored him ignoring her and began another letter.

**Hey, Girly Girls!**

**The latest update is: nothing's happening. Captain Solo's starting to loosen up, but I think it's only because his wife is brow-beating him into it. The Councilor taught me a few things on treaty protocol. I get to play spy for the next few months. I'm supposed to address them all as private citizens. I guess you could say I'm on a first-name basis with Luke, Leia, and Han. (Nanny nanny.) I even got a fake Imperial identichip with an assumed name. I'll have to keep it in case they ever comm the authorities to the Mash Pit.**

**The downside is that we're on comm silence for the duration so I won't be able to hear how things are going back there—**

Kess paused, blinked, and read her last line. With a defeated sigh, she finished typing out her thought anyway.

**it also means that I can't send you any letters either.**

Kess blew up at her bangs and slumped against into the armrest of the couch. Her eyes turned to Artoo in the corner, plugged into a terminal and muttering data to himself. She realized again where she was. She looked to the game table where the Solos sifted through datacards and realized again who she was with.

Kess let her eyes fall on the Jedi Knight at the other end of the couch and remembered Nik's request for the man's autograph. She quickly turned her mind on something else before the he detected her girlish nerves. Kess forced her glee to calm so she would sound professional. "Excuse me, sir. Do you have anything good to read?"

Luke's concentration burst like a bubble to look over at her. "Like what?"

Kess shrugged, "Anything that doesn't have to do with ship repair or politics." She pulled the card out of the datapad and dropped it on the cushion between them, "I just realized I can't send out any letters."

Blue eyes glanced at her datacard. The corner of his mouth curled, "Have you been writing letters this whole time?"

Kess' cheeks flushed.

He lowered his gaze to his lap and picked up a datacard from the mess resting by his leg. His grin grew wider when he checked the label and tossed it at her. "Stop calling me 'sir'." Humored, he returned to his reading.

Kess could see his eyes shine as he went back to his reading and Kayla's trained flirtatious training welled up in her throat. She picked up the datacard with a playful smirk. "Should I call you Galactic Hero?"

His eyes squinted before sliding over.

Her voice stayed playfully quiet. "Big Rogue Group Boss Man?"

Skywalker set down his datapad and draped his arm across the back of the couch, blinking long and slow to turn his face to her.

Kess sniggered tight and fast. "Farm boy?"

He angled a brow and aimed it at her. "Grease monkey."

"Ooh!" She flashed a smile. "So he _does_ fight back."

Luke rolled his eyes away, shaking his head and picked up his own datapad again. "Now, just take a moment and ask yourself, Kess, do you _really_ want to aggravate me to the point of 'fighting back'?" When done, his eyes flicked to her with grinning warning.

Kess pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes.

Luke chuckled softly, "You started it."

Kess shifted in her seat.

"Three, two," he said as he focused on his datapad again.

Kess watched the side of his face as he read. Her mind drifted memories of her grandfather. She worded it cautiously before speaking, "Can I ask you one more question about the Jedi?"

Luke turned his eyes to her and waited for the question with patience.

"Where was the Academy?"

He didn't blink, "Why do you want to know?"

The gears cranked in Kess' head until she remembered she couldn't lie to him. She huffed at her bangs and dropped her head back. "Um—

Luke frowned and motioned at the datapad in her hand. "Just read." He returned his focus on his letter, disappointed.

Kess kicked herself in defeat raised the datapad to read:

**The Jedi History**

Kess straightened in her seat in shock.

Luke didn't turn his eyes to her anymore. "It's not ship repair and it's not politics," he admitted, "and it talks about the Academy on the _Adegan_ System in chapter twelve."

Kess switched to the first page. "Thus, 'Adegan Crystals'," she grinned.

"Precisely."

Kess scratched one fingernail on her temple and smiled shyly, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She watched him read for a moment and smiled wider. She was sitting on a couch next to Luke Skywalker and, to top it off, he was being nice to her. The first time she saw him on the vid, he looked so young. Either the camera fooled her, or the Alliance really had taken a toll on the farm boy. His baby face was gone, his sandy hair was longer against his neck, and his jaw was harder.

Muscles moved in his cheek as he subconsciously swallowed. He pulled a big arm from the back of the couch and moved the datapad from one hand to another.

A moment later, blue eyes sliced over at her.

Kess noticed she had been staring, and blinked.

"Read," he repeated.

She saw just enough of a smile in his eyes to ease her embarrassment. His eyes returned to his datapad and she forced herself the read her own.

* * *

Leia buttoned up a nightshirt in the starboard passageway when Han strutted up with his hands on his hips. "We'll make the window by forty minutes," he reported.

Leia dropped her arms from her shirt and sighed. "I've got a bad feeling about this." She slid into the enlarged bunk and propped her head on her fist.

Han tried to hide his own worry and pulled off his vest. "Now, aren't you glad I came along? If this is a trap—

"If this is a trap, we're still in big trouble. You bringing us here _doesn't_ improve our chance of getting out." She rubbed her eyes with thumb and forefinger. "And if it isn't a trap, then you can finally get this ship in reliable condition while Luke and I haggle."

He began to unbutton the white shirt. "Yeah, well, I'm not sure how much haggling and repairs you and I are going to get done with Luke and Lendra so busy flirting with each other."

Leia smiled. "Pretend you haven't noticed, all right?"

He shrugged uncomfortably, "There's something about her that bugs me."

"She's a good engineer—

"She's _probably_ a good engineer," he admitted quietly. "She's used to pounding the ground on Rebel bases. How do we know she can put on a show for the Imperials for four months of treaty haggling?"

"Admiral Drayson wouldn't have given you an engineer who couldn't cut it. He knows what we're up against." She vaguely watched him finish stripping his day clothes and toss them away. "Besides, Luke will make sure she doesn't blow our cover."

Han stopped. His forehead wrinkled. "How?"

Leia grinned, "He thinks she's Force-sensitive."

He winced violently. He could just see the girl running to Luke every time he butted heads with her. If she was Force-sensitive, did that mean that Leia's training would be delayed even further? Han lay down in the bunk beside his wife, wishing desperately they could take a vacation.

Leia patted his shoulder and rolled onto her back. "Don't worry. At least he has someone to talk to while we're arguing all the time."

Han grinned at the ceiling of the bunk and took her hand under the blanket. Leia squeezed gently with one hand and turned off the bunk light with the other.

 


	19. LL1 18 Nightmare

**LL1       18        Nightmare**

The deep hum of power drifted through dim passageways of the _Millennium Falcon_. On the last night of the trip, Luke went to bed early to get a good night's rest. For hours, his sleep was peaceful.

Then somebody screamed.

Luke eyes flew open in crisp awareness, but no part of his body moved. The darkened ship droned through the stars with no other sound. His eyes looked up the corridor as far as he could see and found no movement. His senses checked out to everyone onboard, everyone still in bed, the droids shut down in the cargo bay. Chewie was still playing cards in the cockpit as though he hadn't heard a thing. Nothing was out of place.

Luke slowly pushed himself to sit up. He wondered if he had dreamt it.

The scream came again, a blood-curdling cry. It was a woman's voice, a desperate plea dribbling down to a beaten whimper. But Luke's ears hadn't processed the sound; the scream came through the Force. He immediately touched Leia's mind as he flung his legs out of bed, only to find her blinking awake in confusion as well. Han remained asleep lying next to her.

Process of elimination…

Luke came to his feet and looked down the corridor, Lendra's light was still off, her bunk was still quiet.

Leia quickly came to the same conclusion. She tiptoed to Luke's bunk with a white cloak wrapped around her shoulders. Leia whispered as she met him in the dim passageway. "Is that _her_?"

They walked together to Lendra's bunk to find the Lieutenant sleeping quietly. The woman's mouth didn't move, her body didn't twitch, but her voice rang out clearly on the Force. _"No! No! No!"_ The screams faded to whimpering cries. Luke shut off his ability to sense her emotions. Leia flinched.

"Go back to bed," Luke told her, "I'll take care of this."

He could protect himself against Kess' accidental Force use better than Leia could. He made a mental note to talk to Leia about practicing her blocking techniques even if her training was on hold. "Go," he whispered.

Leia looked at her brother for a moment before tiptoeing away.

Luke rubbed his lips as he considered this. Not entirely comfortable with it, he carefully sat down beside her on the bunk. She stirred, pulling the charcoal colored blanket over her arm and began to twitch at the nightmare. Her hair sprayed across her face and shoulder.

Luke carefully sounded out the words. "Wake up, Kess."

She didn't move.

He leaned in and in one swift movement, brushed an index finger across her neck to pull away the hair from her face. He said a little louder, "Lendra, wake up."

Her eyelids knitted but she didn't wake up. Her voice sounded through the Force in a corrosive pain, _"How did they blow up a whole kriffing planet?!"_

Memories always made the worst nightmares. Luke inhaled and straightened his shoulders. It took no effort to send his voice out on the Force and out of his mouth in unison. Using his practiced Commander's tone in both dimensions, he spat hard, "Kesselia! _Wake up_!"

She shot up and bonked her head on the ceiling. The pain jerked her awake. She pressed a palm on her forehead and blinked away the nightmare. She looked around to remember where she was. Her face relaxed only a little at that because reality forced her to accept that the Jedi glaring down at her wasn't a dream either.

Kess sat up clumsily and pulled her hair over her shoulder in a bunch. "Er. Hi?"

"Are you all right?" he asked politely.

Kess nodded, "It was just a dream. I usually don't cry out in my sleep. I'm sorry if I woke you."

Luke sighed tightly as he stood up again. "If you were calling out loud, Chewie would have gotten here first."

She stretched out her legs. "Then how-?" she stopped herself.

Luke met her eyes in the darkness, "Call it a sixth sense." With that, he walked away to his own bunk.

Kess watched him go before she lay back down. It took her a minute to put the pieces together and realize she had been using the Force somehow. It wasn't the first time she screamed in a dream. She wondered if she had been screaming into the Force all along. She wondered what else had she done with the Force without knowing it.

And Skywalker probably knew it from the start.

Looking back now, Kess realized he'd been trying to get her to admit it this entire time.

Kess cussed under her breath. She could imagine the battery of questions she was going to get in the morning. Kess' idiot-kid curiosity got her in this predicament. Sure, she wanted to train, but her father would have her hide and serve it on a platter for Victory Dinner.

Kess curled her knees up and hugged them to her chest. The last bits of the nightmare faded from her consciousness, but she mourned the loss of her mother again as though it just happened. Kess remembered pressing herself into the corner of the room, fighting between mourning and self-defense. Tears streamed down her face while dad raged over the Newsnet reports on the vid.

When Darth Vader blipped onto the screen, shaking an iron fist of warning for all the other systems out there, Dad shook his fists right back at the vid screen. "This is what happens when you let Jedi on the loose!"

"It was years ago," Kess whispered to herself, forcing her eyes open so she'd remember where she was, so she'd remember she was far away from her father, so she'd remember her duty to the Alliance, her life goal to stop that black-helmeted bishwag and all his Imperial buddies from killing other mothers...

Kess caught her breath and thought hard and fast. The Jedi are an independent faction. They aren't part of the military or the government.     

_They can't 'order' me to train._

 

 

 

 

 


	20. LL1 19 Keep Vader Out Of This

** LL1       19        Keep Vader Out Of This **

Luke flipped the switch on the stove and leaned his back against the pantry hatch as he waited for it to heat up. With a spatula in one hand, he folded his arms and bowed his head in thought. He had to get to the bottom of that conflict somehow. He had to know what gave her such polar extremes about the Jedi.

_'They blew up the whole planet._ ' She was dreaming about Alderaan.

"You awake?" Leia's husky voice pierced his thoughts. She was dressed for the Frakkan landing with her hair wrapped in a braided bun atop her crown and a shimmering orange gown fluttering over her skin like water. Warm eyes peeked at him as she poured a hot cup. "What happened last night?" She leaned against the opposite counter and sipped gingerly.

Luke shrugged and took a step to the stove, "Nothing you don't already know. Our Repair Engineer is Force-sensitive and is reluctant to admit it." He began peeling apart the strips of red meat and laying them onto the fryer. "Apparently, she had no idea she was using it."

Leia lifted her hand to the air, "How could she not know?"

Luke looked at her again, "It's easy." He paused on that but returned to the task of cooking. "She's probably been doing it all along and no one has been around to hear it until now."

Leia squinted, "Is she a descendant of—" She went silent when she heard the woman's footfalls.

Lendra stopped mid-stride when she heard the question. Before the woman could process a response, Luke looked straight at her, "I don't know. _Are you_?"

She froze in his hard eyes.

Luke frowned and returned his gaze to the sizzling meat. "Yesterday you told me you weren't."

Kess set her chin and recited the explanation, "My grandfather never made it to knighthood. He died at the academy." She passed Leia to pour her own mug and quickly left again, adding with a flat tone. "And that's simply a rumor to begin with."

Leia spoke softly as to not sound offensive, "Why didn't you mention this before?"

"I didn't feel it was relevant," Kess forced herself to be strong.

Luke's tone dropped, "How relevant was that nightmare?"

"My nightmares are irrelevant," she said and moved quickly to the engineering station, clearly trying to brush off this conversation by getting to work.

"Until someone hears you," he warned.

Leia gingerly pulled the spatula from Luke's hand.

Luke looked down to find Leia's brown eyes on him and shooing him away to go deal with _that_ instead.

The woman's anger spiked, "What's that supposed to mean? So I wake you up? What are you gonna do to me?"

Luke assured carefully, " _I_ won't do anything, but I'm not the only one in this galaxy that's Force-sensitive. Leia heard it too. Who knows who else will hear it on Frakkan, or Yavin, or Tatooine."

"So what if I wake a dozen people up?" Lendra argued.

Luke stepped across the main bay explained it piece-by-piece, "Nightmares are comprised of dark emotions. That's what makes them 'nightmares' instead of 'dreams'. When you call out in the Force because of a nightmare, you are using the _dark side_ of the Force." He punctuated his sentences with a jerk of his chin. "If a Sith hears you, they will undoubtedly come to your aid to complete your training to the dark side."

Kess mockingly flopped her hands, "Who? _Me_? Sorry, I don't have such delusions." She let out a nervous chuckle and let her voice die, trying to turn away from him, "I'm gonna be a Repair Manager when I grow up, not _Darth Vader_." The Force sizzled with a slash of hate when she hissed Vader's name.

Luke's mouth grimaced at the awkward blow.

Leia's eyes flicked over from the skillet but were no longer smiling.

Luke rubbed sweaty palms on the fabric of his slacks, wincing at his options. "Can we leave Vader out of this?"

Kess tried to ignore him with a hiss. "Yes. _Please_." She typed furiously at the console to get to work and out of this entire conversation. "Can we leave _me_ out of this?"

Luke chose his words carefully. "I only wanted you to be aware that what you were doing could have adverse effects."

"If it weren't for him I wouldn't have had those nightmares." Her hand dropped as she mumbled, "And if it weren't for you, they wouldn't have come back."

Luke dropped his composure with a whine, "What did _I_ do?"

Kess huffed into her palms. "Look, it's my problem, okay? There's nothing here you have to worry about! Just forget about it. It's a--" She faced him so she could throw his bologna right back at him. " _It's a long story_." She got up and rushed passed him to try to escape the interrogation.

Luke put his hands on his hips and shouted as she flew by, "Then summarize it!"

Kess turned with a face of anger and pointed a finger at him-

The ship shuddered violently. Kess grabbed the chair and Luke bent his knees to keep his balance. Leia dropped the spatula in the skillet and the bulkhead.

Kess' eyes turned up, listening to the sounds of the _Falcon_. The hyperdrive wound down and Chewie shouted in frustration in the cockpit. Kess whistled for Artoo to wake up and dashed to the corridor.

The Wookiee was climbing out of his copilot's seat when they caught up. He howled a multi-octave sentence as he dug his furry hands into an open panel on the navicomputer. Before Artoo had a chance to catch up and translate, the Captain shoved Kess repair engineer aside at the shoulder so he climb into his own cockpit, "But we just replaced the damn thing!"

Artoo caught up and began whistling a translation of what Chewie said. Luke and Leia stepped up behind the droid with mild worry. Han checked gauges and flipped switches above him on the console. Chewbacca was on his back on the deck with his arms in a lower panel.

"What about the lockpern?" Han yelled at his partner below him.

Kess warned, "Lockperns don't bring down a hyperdrive in action, Cap'n."

Luke tried to slide by her but the grease monkey crossed her arms at her chest and dropped against the bulkhead in a clear statement that she wasn't going to help without expressed instruction.

Han half-swiveled back at her, "The lockperns have been acting up lately!"

The ship trembled as it slowed and came to a complete stop in the middle of space. All eyes went to the window where the streaks turned into immobile stars. They were stuck in the middle of nowhere and were going to miss the 'three-hour window' if they didn't get back into hyperspace soon.

Kess eyed Han coldly as she spoke, "First Officer Chewbacca? Did you give a manual command to the hyperdrive just now?"

Chewie growled at her as he stood, but Han didn't wait for him to finish, "You think it's the power couplings."

She nodded, "It couldn't be the lockperns. I didn't hear the relay blow. I would have heard it on a ship this small."

Han shot out of his chair, hissing at Lendra, "When was the last time you were _on_ a ship this small?"

His fingers raced over switches in the sidewall and sat down again. "We're 15.56 from Frakkan. I'm going to push it through real-space until we get the hyperdrive up again. Lendra, get up here and man the scopes."

Chewbacca stuck out his chest at his full two-metre-tall height and growled in revolt.

"Get moving, Chewie! We don't have time for this!"

Artoo rolled out the hatch behind the complaining Wookiee. Luke leaned his shoulder on the jam and met Leia's gaze. Her eyes rolled.

Lendra sat slowly onto Chewie's seat. Her hands hovered fearfully over the console. This was not her place. She focused the amber digital display counting backwards from 11.02 and pointed. "What that?"

Leia leaned in over her husband's chair and spoke huskily into the side of his face. "That's what's left of our three-hour window."

11.02 minus 15.56 equals _late_.

Luke dropped an arm on the other passenger chair. "Han, we don't have time—

Kess dropped her arms, "Let me into your opto-electrics, Skipper."

Han pulled on the stick. "No."

The ship heaved to port and stars moved slowly to the right. The shadow of a planet loomed into view, but they were still a good distance away. "Chewie and I can handle it. We'll let you know if you were right."

Han glanced at Lendra between quick movements of flying the ship. She was staring out the window at the planet's outline. "Get your eyes on those scopes!" Han snapped. "Even if we don't miss the window, they could come out of hyperspace any minute!"

Her voice frayed to panic, "What am I looking for?"

Chewie growled from the interior and Han stood up in response. "Luke, take this."

In a swift, choreographed move, Luke slid into the pilot's seat and took the stick as Han slid out. Leia followed the frustrated Captain out the door.

Luke's eyes darted across the gauges for a moment, then huffed to relax before getting around to answering her question. "Y'know what a Star Destroyer looks like?"

Kess adjusted in her seat. "Seen pictures."

Luke gritted a tight smile, " _That's_ what you're looking for."

 

 

 


	21. LL1 20 Here Comes the Speech

** LL1       20        Here Comes The Speech **

Luke scanned the gauges and realized that there wasn't much to do at this point but fly as fast as possible toward the planet.

Kess stared at the scopes from Chewie's seat. Her clenched jaw was as stiff as her eyes.

Luke kept his eyes on the planet. "Kess, I'm the last Jedi Knight..."

Her expression twitched. _Here comes the speech._

"I'm accustomed to people hating me," he continued in a soft voice. "I'm accustomed to people being frightened of me, but I'm also accustomed to knowing why." He glanced at her to see if she was going to budge, but her eyes remained fixed on the scopes. "You get defensive every time it comes up in conversation. And it's not a fear of the unknown because you know a lot more than most. You get angry at me and you get scared of me in unnatural proportions, and I simply want to know _why_."

She got snarky, "Why don't you just try to read my mind?"

He tightened the seal around his emotions so that he couldn't feel hers. His forehead wrinkled, "Because I _don't want to_."

His tone snapped her out of her attitude. She looked at the growing planet and the empty scopes. "My grandfather broke my grandmother's heart when he left for the Jedi Academy. Grandma didn't live long enough to— We never heard from him again. As the story goes: Darth Vader erased the Jedi from existence, right?"

Mixed between sympathy and guilt, he muttered, "I'm sorry."

"And I'm scared because if my father knew I was sitting here having this conversation with you, he would lose his lid."

A slice of day smiled from the bottom of the planet as the _Falcon_ drifted a few degrees off center. The system's sun brightened their faces as morning unfolded on the planet below.

"I can understand that," Luke murmured as he adjusted the heading of the ship a little.

The planet slowly outgrew the window. He aimed the _Falcon_ towards the darkened part of Frakkan. The morning faded away as they rounded deeper into night.

Luke sensed it on the Force that, on this topic, Kess was acting more on her natural instincts than her sentient logic. Any kind of trauma tended to draw that reaction out of people when the right triggers clicked.

For Kess, right now, Luke's title was the trigger. But there was something else in there too. He glanced over at her, remembering back when she giddily begged to play with the lightsaber some more. She wanted to be a Jedi, and he knew it.

Luke thought best to treat this situation more like trying to catch a wild animal. Don't chase; just throw out a morsel of food and wait.

"I'll make you a little proposition," he said. "You're in danger using the Force accidentally like that. Let me train you how to _not_ use it, and I won't pressure you about the rest."

Her voice piqued, "What do you mean?"

Luke explained, "You're a walking beacon for any Force user who happens to be passing by, which means you are not only endangering yourself, but also me, everyone on board, and this mission." He looked firmly at her. "You have to stop. Now. Let me train you that much and I won't ask you to train the rest of the way."

Her voice hiked another octave, "What do you mean 'the rest of the way'?"

Luke fought to keep the cocky grin from blossoming on his face. "You know what I mean."

The planet completely covered the window. The stars were gone and it was too dark to see any surface features on the planet.

Luke gave in to the urge to see the expression on her face. He turned over a twinkling eye to meet her stare. She was silent, staring at him like he was nuts.

Finally, Kess blurted at him. "You can't be serious!"

Luke started, but his grin vanished. His eyes went to the window. "Check the scopes."

Kess sat up in the chair. The black scope now had two red dots. Her eyes moved to the IFF screen, "Two Star Destroyers at 78.22."

Luke was instantly calm, "What vector?"

"Uh, 286 by 192 and—" Her voice quivered as it got louder, "I just lost them behind the planet."

Luke pulled up farther, deeper into the nightfall, "That means they just lost us too. Calm down."

Kess scoured the scopes. A variety of blue dots popped up on the screen. Unmanned satellites. Then four gold dots popped in the mess, either their escort or their next dilemma. "Four fighters approaching 23.67," Kess announced.

He reached to the well-worn gray button and called strongly, "We're here, Han. Fix it later."

In seconds, the hatch opened and the choreographed switch happened again as the Captain took the stick. The Star Destroyers were reported to Solo and his First Officer, who took the information almost as calmly as Luke did. Kess was chased out of the co-pilot's chair. Her last view of the scope was the IFF screen identifying the Frakkan ships as TIE fighters. Her heart skipped a beat and she backed up to the hatch of the cockpit.

A crackling voice came out of the comm speaker, "Unidentified ship, state your name, destination, and cargo."

Han angled his chin back, "It's for you, sweetheart."

The Councilor leaned down between the Captain and the Wookiee, "This is the Crawler Loop, Sultani Space Port, passengers only. Transmitting authorization code." She typed with a single hand and pushed a separate button with her thumb.

A silence fell on the comm channel. The cockpit remained quiet waiting to see if the code would work.

Kess felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped in surprise.

Luke gave her a smile of assurance, trying not to laugh at her jittery squirrel reaction. "Relax." He motioned her to the chair behind Chewie. "We know what we're doing."

The woman lowered onto the seat, amazed by his ease.

As the seconds counted on, Leia backed up and sat in the other passenger seat.

Luke peered over Chewie to the gauges, "Old 4250 TIEs?"

Chewie checked the IFF screen and grunted an affirmative. The ships grew larger as they approached. Frakkan's nighttime surface filled the cockpit view.

The comm speaker crackled again. "Crawler Loop, you are cleared for approach on escort only."

Leia leaned forward again, "Thank you, Frakkan Control," and sat back down. She considered aloud. "The Empire probably hasn't given them any fresh leftovers since the Battle of Endor. We took out too many ships."

The TIE fighters were now close enough for them to see a turquoise symbol painted across the flat solar panels, marking them as Frakkan, not Imperial. Kess watched in awe as the _Falcon_ fell into escort formation with TIE fighters and flew straight to the ground.

"Well," Luke broke the silence with a sigh as he turned away, "Guess I'd better change."

 

 


	22. LL1 21 Welcome to Frakkan

** LL1 21 Welcome to Frakkan **

The spewing of mooring lines was audible inside the main bay. Kess held onto Threepio's forearm for the jerk when the _Falcon_ hit the ground, then let go just as quickly to finish attaching a restraining bolt onto his breast.

"What? We're here?" said Threepio with delight. "Oh, I do prefer space travel on standby."

Kess tossed a hand tool to her bag, "Yeah, I would have rather—

"Not one 'sir' outta you!" Solo shook a finger at Kess' nose as he marched out of the cockpit. "You'll blow our cover." The parade filed out of the corridor in a hustle.

"Aye, sir."

Han stopped short and gave her an evil eye.

"I was just kidding!" Kess threw her palms up with a little cackle, "Geez."

"Han." Leia motioned him over to her. She checked the white shirt for spots and the black vest for lint. Luke came out of the port corridor wearing black from neck to boots in what was considered his Jedi uniform and yet Leia motioned for him to step up for inspection as well.

Leia's finalized this quick check with a satisfied nod. She turned to Threepio and Artoo to repeat the process. Kess serviced both droids on the trip so she was confident Leia would be satisfied with them as well. The Councilor then ordered Kess to stand at attention and inspected the woman's fresh-pressed coveralls, checking twice that Kess' usual uniform was naked all rank insignia.

Luke adjusted his cuff with a quiet grin to Kess. "She treats us like children."

Chewie hooted something and walked down the corridor to the ramp. One by one, the crowd followed and fell into a marching order. A furry hand pulled Kess' elbow to walk beside the walking carpet, one step in front the droids. Kess watched the introductions unfold from within ranks.

The ramp lowered onto dusty cement, lit only by bright bluish fluorescent. Fresh air rushed into the ship with a salty breeze. Leia's orange dress fluttered in the wind behind her when she stepped down to the planet's surface. The parade followed her to the docking pad. The _Falcon's_ pressure releases were still steaming from the landing. Massive bay doors slowly covered a starlit sky. The sound of stone grinding on stone echoed through the bay until a shuddering crunch of ceiling doors blotted out the night sky.

A lone woman in a crisp suit and a red-haired, round bun stood rigidly at the edge of the dock. She marched directly to Leia and stopped again with a respectful bow. "I am Ambassador Shuley," she spoke in richly-accented Basic. "It is a pleasure to have you visit us here on Frakkan."

Leia bowed back. "I am Councilor Leia Organa Solo. This is Commander Skywalker, Jedi Knight. Captain Solo, First Officer Chewbacca, and Lieutenant Lendra." Each person bowed his or her head slightly as each name was called.

Kess wondered what this scene looked like on the vid.

Leia continued, "Thank you for your invitation."

Ambassador Shuley stepped aside with a mechanical wave to the door, "May I escort you to your suite?"

Leia nodded and walked with the woman. The group fell out of formation when they got to the door, but continued the stroll in a faint replica of it when they made it outside. Chewie hooted softly to the droids during the shuffle and, without a word, both droids turned around and went back onto the ship.

Shuley led them down a garden path. "Governor Levilot regrets he cannot meet you in person. He is attending to our new arrivals in our capital. He extends his welcome to you and invites your party to breakfast this morning."

Leia nodded again, "We'd be delighted."

Stars blanketed the sky where it peeked through skyscrapers. They walked along a curving brick path through sculptured landscaping. Thin buildings of pristine construction glowed geometric designs from high windows. The Ambassador led them across the empty garden to a fine hotel.

There was no concierge, no desk clerk, and no droids. Not a soul was there to greet them besides the Ambassador. Kess wasn't the only one that noticed but, when Leia politely asked, Shuley responded with a rehearsed answer. She explained that they arrived during Sultani's early morning so that fewer people will be aware of their arrival. She led them directly to the elevator without any tour of the facilities and pressed a button to close them all in. "Sultani is a popular holiday destination for the Frakkan people. We would like to offer you the comforts of a vacation in return for coming to see us during your busy schedule."

The elevator pulled them skyward in a jerk and moved faster than Kess expected. Leia took it in stride as she was probably used to big elevators. Han's space-legs were prepared for it. Luke didn't seem to notice, but Kess instinctively grabbed the closest handhold to keep her balance.

Her fingers snatched onto an arm of brown fur.

Chewie woofed with confusion that Kess would make a pass at him. Thankfully, it was just his forearm, but Kess still apologized with a mutter as she let him go.

The Wookiee didn't verbally respond right away, not that his words would have done Kess any good to understand his reaction. She couldn't see his face from this angle, but something about Chewie's expression drew the attention of everyone in the elevator.

Kess started to shift her eyes, afraid to look up.

Then, Chewie lifted his long arm and patted the top of her head with a paw. The big furry monster hooted four notes.

Han flashed a smile.

Shuley's brows knitted, unsure how to react to all this.

Luke was one to give in with curiosity, "What did he say?"

The elevator began to slow. Han stretched a grin back at Kess as he turned to the door. "'Down, girl. Good dog'."

The elevator opened to the back center of a tremendous suite. One giant, arched wall of glass looked like a big screen video of a sparkling, starry night. The front room was in the shape of an eye, with a sunken sitting area at its pupil. The lush carpet and cushiony furniture throughout were rich in mauves, plums, and patterns of sharp violet.

"There are four separate bedrooms for you. I can provide additional rooms or other space at your request." The woman's flowery accent and practiced phrases didn't warm her voice. Like a tour guide bored with her job, she waved a mechanical hand to the different amenities. "The communications desk is there. You have public access to news, net, and libraries. Also programmed in are the direct lines to my address and the Governor's address. However, we regretfully must restrict your access to other addresses to ensure confidentiality on this visit."

Leia stepped down into the sitting area. "Will we be permitted comm access at any point during our stay?" She turned in the open floor to face Shuley across the space. "I must keep the Chief Commander posted on our progress."

Ambassador Shuley nodded, "The Governor will be providing a regulated channel for coded messages. He also has an assumed address for the Alliance to send messages to you." She turned to the kitchen, concluding the comm silence discussion. "A service droid has been provided. The activation control is here. After such a long journey, I am sure you would like some time to freshen up from your trip." She marched back to the elevator and came back to attention. "I shall return to escort you to breakfast in four hours."

Leia bowed her chin formally. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"Is there anything else I may do for you before I take my leave?"

Luke started, but Leia stopped him with her fingers on his wrist and smiled at Shuley once more. "You have been most kind."

With that, the Ambassador stepped back into the elevator and the silver doors swallowed her whole.

Han dropped sideways into an amethyst chair and stretched his neck over the armrest. "She's about as warm as a snake." He was enjoying the vacation part of it already.

Leia turned to Luke, "What were you going to ask her?"

Luke's eyebrow rose and his hand reached back to the elevator. "I was wondering if we were allowed to go _outside_."

Meanwhile, Kess stepped away from it all, browsing at the decor with her hands clasped behind her back. _This_ was kind of environment she expected to find the famous political trio. Yet she could relax with the rest of them. She peered into one of the bedrooms, afraid to touch anything.

"Outside?" Leia shifted to her brother. "For what?"

Luke dropped is elbows to lean against the railing around the dropped sitting area. He faced his sister across the room but eyed the roaming engineer out of the corner of his eye. "I have to teach a Jedi exercise before a member of our crew goes back to sleep."

Kess spun around to the sitting area to find all eyes were on her. She scrambled to defend, "I wasn't going to taking a nap. _We_ just got up."

Luke's shrugged at her, "Better start now that later."

Kess laughed nervously, "But, Comma- er, Luke... this isn't um… _blast_."

Not unexpectedly, the Councilor eyed Kess across the room with a clear intent to follow the man's decision. Solo crooned his neck over the armrest to glare a reminder at Kess about following orders. The only one left in the room from which she could plead for help was the Wookiee, now turning away from the whole drama with a dismissive woof at it all

Kess swallowed hard and prayed for a distraction that would get her out of this.

The elevator door opened.

Threepio and Artoo came into the suite loaded down with luggage. Kess leapt happily to the duty of helping them. She ushered both droids toward an oval dining table where she helped them unload, keeping her back decisively to the rest of the group.

Soon, Leia joined them at the table. Kess secretly watched for it but didn't see the Councilor glaring any kind of warning or disappointment at her. Instead, Leia seemed fully distracted picking through the growing mound of bags. She threw out easy orders to Threepio on what to do with certain pieces, including specifying whose room was whose.

"Luke," Leia added amidst it all, "find us a snack, will you? I'm starving; I don't think I can hold out 'til breakfast."

Kess peeked over her shoulder to see if she'd truly escaped him, but Luke crossed the room slowly, not looking at her, and yet visibly aware that Kess managed to buy more time. "Sure."

* * *

As soon as the elevator doors slid open several levels beneath her visitors, Shuley crossed another purple suite to its comm terminal and her porcelain expression cracked when she snapped her fingers in the air. "B9, link up to the hotel security system. Monitor the elevator access to the Alliance party's suite. I want an hourly report on who comes and goes, time of departure or arrival, and location." The Ambassador tapped at the keys without leaning against the back of the chair.

B9 shuffled out of his storage closet with the _whhiirrr_ -click, _whhiirrr_ -click of his footsteps. His frame was built of a brushed nickel alloy. Round eyes lit up with blue LEDs and his mouth was a smiling grating of highly polished silver. "Yes, Ambassador," he spoke with Shuley's same Frakkan accent in a happy, metallic voice. His forearm folded completely in on itself to leave a metal bone jutting from his elbow. It was with this bone he plugged into the wall and began spinning the link. "Two members of the Alliance party have arrived at the suite, Ambassador."

"What?" Shuley looked up. "Who?"

With a smile plastered across his polished face, he reported, "Two androids arrived at zero two five eight."

Shuley stared at the wall as the report came across her ears. "Where were they?"

"There is no record."

Shuley stood and went to the window, looking thoughtfully to the starry night, black ocean, and a metre of path-lit beach. She straightened her shoulders more.

B9 turned his head 120 degrees at his neck to face where she now stood at the window. "The identifications of the Alliance party have not yet been received by the monitor. Please submit this information now."

Folding her hands patiently behind her back, she stared at the dark sky and described the Alliance crew. "Identify them by their sex and hair colour. Councilor Organa Solo is the human female with brown hair. Captain Solo is the human male with brown hair. Jedi Skywalker is the human male with tan hair. Lieutenant Lendra is the human female with tan hair. Chewbacca is the Wookiee. Identify the droids as their models numbers." Shuley stepped away from the window, "Wake me at zero seven."

"Yes, Ambassador." The silver smile returned to its default position at zero degrees and stood comfortably with its elbow bone attached to the hotel wall.

 


	23. LL1 22 Luke Skywalker's Real Name

** LL1       22        Luke Skywalker's Real Name **

Well over two metres tall, Chewbacca looked up and down the 1.75 metre bed and grunted indignantly. The room was sufficient for everything else. His few belongings fit on top of the dresser without crowding, but the bed was a head and a half too short. He looked around the room, not finding a workable solution, and walked out the door to the living room.

Artoo whistled from one of the bedrooms. Threepio responded as he waddled, "I quite agree. After living with them for days on the trip, I would much prefer having separate quarters from Chewbacca."

Chewie ignored them and scanned the sitting area for its useful furniture. He spied a lavender piece about the same height as his bed and long enough to make a difference in his sleeping situation. It was a footrest underneath a pair of black boots.

He woofed.

Solo looked up, looked down, and lifted his feet.

Chewie took the piece of furniture, lifted it to his chest without effort, and carried it into his room.

Leia darted out of the bedroom next door. Her orange dress flowed through the lavender hues like a bright fish in a purple ocean. "Threepio, did you get the bag of datapads from my bunk?"

Threepio stepped to her. "Yes, Councilor. I shall retrieve it for you." He shuffled to the dining table and picked up one of many bags. He turned to take it to her, but she met him there.

"What else is here?" She asked herself as she reviewed what was left of the table's mixed contents.

Luke stepped out of the kitchen with a plate of hot, berry muffins, "Breakfast is served." Setting the plate down on the now half-empty table, he took a muffin in one hand and his charcoal-colored duffel bag in the other. "Which room is mine?"

Leia looked up, "That one." She pointed to the room just left of the elevator and reached for a muffin.

Luke noted the fourth bedroom door was closed again and the repair engineer was missing again.

 _Give her some space_ , Leia's eyes had ordered him, and Luke agreed. He could tell the woman was feeling cornered with everyone's eyes on her. Luke knew Leia would issue a formal order upon the Lieutenant if he asked her to, and he guessed Kess' sense of military duty would have her begrudgingly follow it, but that would be the worst foot to start off with a first apprentice.

Artoo rolled out of his bedroom as Luke entered it. Relishing the thought of privacy for a few minutes, even from the droids, he hit the door control with his elbow before putting down his bag. On the left stood a single door and simple comm desk. A double-wide bed occupied the far wall and an empty closet complex filled the wall to the right. He slid open one of the standing cupboards and he set down the duffel on the shelf where it would wait until he felt like unpacking.

The comm terminal across the room flashed advertisements of food prices and gambling odds at the hotel casino. Luke bit the muffin in his hand as he walked around the bed to turn the screen off, but his feet stopped short in front of the lavatory door.

Munching on the muffin, curious, he stepped up and thumbed the button. The door slid aside to reveal a room of bright white tile, but the part upon which his eyes deviously narrowed was the _other_ bedroom door.

Luke strained a grin over his chewing as he stepped through the lav. He leaned a shoulder against the other door frame and knocked twice with a single knuckle. He sensed her attention shift and her confusion spike. He knocked again.

The door slid aside.

Kess' room was the mirror image of his own. She was already half-unpacked. As soon as she saw his smile, brown eyes rolled away with discomfort as if his very presence kept her off-balance.

Luke couldn't help but grin at the humor of all of this. He studied the muffin for another bite. "I'm starting to think you planned for the ship to break down and those Star Destroyers to come out of hyperspace just so you wouldn't have to finish this conversation."

Kess crossed her arms and leaned against the other side of the doorway, "What _precisely_ is it that you want me to tell you?"

"I want you to tell me about your connection with the Jedi."

"Why?"

Luke smirked and shrugged, "It's kind of a hobby?"

Kess dropped her arms and she resumed her task of unpacking the contents from her sea bag. "I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

Luke watched her shoulders stiffen and sensed a fear gurgling into her throat. He softened his tone to something he hoped sounded friendly. "I'm only insisting that you learn how to _stop_ using the Force."

Her voice came out frustrated, "What blasted difference does it make!"

"I like you, Kess. I don't want to have to kill you later." He said it in jest, but kept her eye so she'd know that he understood how serious this decision truly was.

She went to the opposite side of her double-wide bed and placed a short stack of folded clothes in the open cupboard. "Just because I screamed in a dream doesn't mean that I can—" her hand waved in the air at a loss of words. "I am a grease grunt, not a sorcerer."

Luke took another bite from his muffin, "'Sorcery' is what the Imperial's call it, you know." He then put on a show as if finally putting the pieces together. "Tell me again why you want to design your own lightsaber?"

Her eyes shot up, offended.

Luke smiled fully now, "You keep contradicting yourself, Kesselia. You're torn between two duties and I can understand that. _I can relate to that._ If you don't want to let me in on the big conflict, that's your prerogative." He pointed across the room at her, boisterous and playful over how stupid this whole debate had become. "But don't stand there and try to convince _me_ why you shouldn't train to be a Jedi Knight."

She turned slowly. She leered at him, "How did you know my real name?"

Luke stopped chewing and plucked his shoulder away from the wall. "I looked at your security check results." Avoiding her eyes, he sat down in the comm desk chair. "If you prefer, I will call you Kess."

He could feel it how she rolled that around into her head, not entirely believing his lie.

Her hands slowed on the folding of clothes, "What's _your_ real name?"

Luke put the last bite of muffin in his mouth and leered at her until he swallowed it. "If I tell you my real name, will you tell me about that conflict?"

She searched his expression, untrusting. "Sure."

Luke stood tall, rolled his shoulders back, and strolled over, "My real name," he went to the end of the bed and looked both ways as if checking for eavesdroppers before whispering into her ear, "is _Luke Skywalker_."

With all the theatrics of the 'secret', Kess knew what he was going to say before he said it. She caught the blue twinkle of boyish pride as he backed up again. He plopped backwards into the desk chair and slid his hands behind his head, visibly making himself comfortable for the explanation he just earned for himself.

Kess' neck still tingled from when he whispered innocently at her ear. She began to laugh at her own weaknesses. _This is already a bad idea_. She hardened her stomach and turned her back to him with a gritting grunt. "Fine." Straightening the last stack of clothes, she summarized it in her head and kept her back to him when she spoke. "It's all started with my grandfather when he left us to attend the Jedi Academy. Then Mom went on holiday to Alderaan." She almost turned, but avoided it. "I assume you know that story?"

Luke muttered a dry voice, "Yeah, I know that story."

Kess nodded at her bureau drawer. "Grandma went to get him for Mom's funeral, but he was already dead. Losing both husband and daughter at once, Grandma died too…" Her hatred boiled over. She threw a ball of socks at a drawer. "And Vader was so damn _smug_ about it on the news reports!"

Kess forced herself to take a sigh and collected herself again before turning to the Jedi in the room.

Luke was silent, his face expressionless. His eyes on the floor.

Kess set her hands on her hips. "We had three funerals in the span of a month because of that black-helmeted jerk-ass. So you'll understand that I don't blame my one living parentage for not wanting Nik or I to risk having the same thing happen to us."

"Kess, this is war," Luke said in a low voice, "Blaming one person for Alderaan's fate is sorely misplaced."

Kess quieted.

"Besides," he added, angling his head, "Vader isn't the one that issued the order to fire."

Kess blinked back, "How do _you_ know?"

He met her eyes hard, clearly tired of this, "Because my sister was standing there when it happened." His impatience flaring now, Luke thumbed over his shoulder to indicate the woman in the other room. "Shall we go ask the _Princess_ of Alderaan how many funerals _she_ had that month?"

Kess chomped her jaw shut with instant humility.

Luke swiped his palm over his face and leaned back in the chair again. He sighed quickly and shifted his sights to the wall. His humor was gone. "This is war-"

"I understand that-"

" _Really_?" He stressed, beginning to grin again. "Are you _sure_?" Kess couldn't pull her eyes away, especially when Luke leaned closer with an exasperated smile and a loud gripe, "Then why aren't we downstairs training already?"

Kess flushed to see his growling smile and his hands trying not to wring her neck. Kess blushed at what he blurted, smiled at her own lap with embarrassment.

She hated explaining this, but after telling Yana and Joanne, Kayla and Shorkey, she was starting to get used to it. She lifted her chin to sound mature and sincere. "The war has taken its toll on a lot of people. _I_ don't blame anybody or the hate would eat me up. Hell, I _agree_ with you: the Jedi should be reformed so we can end this stupid Empire and keep the Alliance on its feet."

His eyes shined smug, "Now you're starting to sound like a Jedi."

Kess sighed to keep her cool despite the boyish smirk in her bedroom. "Even my father agrees with you. He hates the Empire and wants the Republic back. He just doesn't want the Alliance to do it with _his_ children."

"So," Luke leaned forward and set his elbows on his knees, "you joined the Alliance anyway."

"A repair engineer is a lot different than a Jedi Knight."

Luke nodded his head in circles, "But you joined the Alliance anyway."

Kess shouted in defense, "My other choice was to stay on Tatooine and spend my life farming water or mining salt! You would have hopped on the first transport out of there, too!"

He flashed an incredulous smile, "I _did_ hop on first transport out of there! I joined the Alliance _and_ became a Jedi," he spread his hands, "and I'm still alive and well."

"Yeah, well, I'm not you," she pointed out. "In fact, who could possibly stand up against you!" She motioned with both hands at the black uniform and lightsaber sitting in front of her. "You are _the_ _one_ who killed Vader! Who could possibly compete with _that_!?"

"I didn't kill him," Luke corrected quickly. He closed his mouth and angled his eyes on the floor. Honest eyes peeked back to her. "What I said on the news release was true."

That made her pause. "What- that the _Emperor_ killed him?" She scoffed. "Oh, don't tell me there isn't more to _that_ story."

"Oh, there _is_ ," he assured but his smile was gone now. "But if you want to know it, you'll need the tools to understand it. And to understand it, you're going to have to _earn_ it."

Kess settled her jaw shut with indecision.

He settled his elbows deeper on his knees so he could lean in with cool eyes and a quiet voice. "Look, Kess. You _want_ to train. You _want_ to be a Jedi. You know it. And I know it. And you can't lie to me about it."

Kess closed her eyes and bit her lips closed.

"The only reason you're still sitting here is because you've convinced yourself that you _can't_ do it. Until you convince yourself otherwise, nothing I say is going to make a difference."

Kess swallowed hard, trying not to look at him, but he was too close.

"But the dark side is a greater enemy than _anybody's_ father."

Something about his eyes when he said that—

He shoved his palms against his own knees to stand up and muttered as he rose, "You just let me know when you figure that out."

With that, Luke left the room and shut the door behind him.

 


	24. LL1 23 Ghost of Grandpa

LL1       23        Ghost of Grandpa

**LL1 23 Ghost of Grandpa**

Governor Levilot set his shoulders back as he awaited the Imperial party. He made a point to keep this routine meeting from appearing too routine. These few minutes during the Admiral's greeting were bound to set the emotion for the duration of the Imperial's presence. Considering that he was not going to be present for most of the Admiral Cheenan's stay, the objective was to ease the job for Vice Governor Daitahn.

Two wings of the delta shuttle folded up so the craft could land. A circle of green lights reflected against the ship's clean hull as it lowered onto the polished deck of the docking bay. Levilot and his small crew remained at attention until the ramp came down like a tongue and the small party marched out.

Admiral Cheenan had a low-ranking aide in tow in the exact position that Daitahn stood with Levilot. The groups met in the center of the walkway. Stiff greetings followed stale bows, "Welcome to Frakkan, Admiral Cheenan. May I escort you to your suite?"

The Admiral nodded to get on with it before Levilot finished offering.

A band of stormtroopers followed the Governor and the Admiral to the street. In a large, covered speeder, the politicians sat down and pulled down the door to close. The dark morning went darker through the tinted windows.

Now facing him for the first time this visit, Daitahn focused on the Admiral. The wrinkles in his aged face had deepened in the last few months since they saw the man last, probably caused by the threat of the ever-growing 'Rebellion'. Daitahn knocked on the window to initiate the driver and settled in for the moderate ride.

Governor Levilot had a way with looking respectable even when crunched in a sitting position. Small talk did not need to be avoided as long as is it was boring. "How is Supreme Prophet Kadaan?"

Admiral Cheenan didn't meet the man's eyes. "He is well."

Silence rested in the air.

The Admiral's eyes shifted as he remembered something out of a dozen other tired thoughts. "He is eager to hear any news regarding his last communiqué."

Levilot remained calm in his mind and in his emotions. "My network has uncovered a few vague leads."

"Good." Admiral Cheenan's gaze fell out the window. "Master is anxious to get his hands on that Usak."

Levilot offered respectfully. "Daitahn will have a full report of our leads for our meeting tomorrow."

The Admiral's nodded distantly. His tired eyes watched the lights of the capital city race by through a tinted window. His thumb absentmindedly tapped against the hilt of his lightsaber. "Come to think of it, so am I."

* * *

Kess sat on the corner of her bed, alone in her room. He heart thumped an irregular beat. Her palms were sweating. She exhaled through an open mouth to try to calm down.

Luke was right about everything except one part. The dark side was not a greater enemy than _her_ father.

In fact, training to be a Jedi would shove Dane Lendra over the edge of it. Despite their differences, Kess loved her father too much to do that to him.

Kess wiped her palms on her pants and stood to find some distraction. She looked for something to occupy her mind, but her clothes were all put away. There were no schematics to study; no to letters to write. Her mind drifted.

She thought back on news reports of Emperor Palpatine, of video clips of Vader shaking his fist at crowds, and at her mother's empty coffin. Why did Dad insist she have a coffin?

Kess sat down in the desk chair that Luke just vacated. Buzz words rolled around in her head: Sith. Darth Vader. Emperor Palpatine. The Death Star. She learned about them in school, in Alliance training, on the NewsNet, and in the grapevine. She knew that anyone who could use the good side of the Force was just as capable of using the bad side.

She remembered Luke's quick defense, _'You haven't seen my third degree.'_         

A chill ran up her back.

On the NewsNet report, Skywalker announced that Vader killed the Emperor and died in the process.

And Luke just observed it all and lived to tell the tale?

_'Riiight!'_ was the instant and nearly unanimous response from the trenches. Kess and a dozen other deck crew crowded in the break-room to watch the little vid for the NewsNet overview after BoE. Kayla was the one to say it aloud. _'I'll bet Skywalker had to turn to the dark side to kill them both and doesn't want to admit that that's how he did it.'_

Kess closed her eyes at the memory. At the time, too much battle data smeared her attention from focusing on that assessment. Now, only metres away from the Jedi in question, that detail was all she could think about.

What if Skywalker was already turned Sith and he just wasn't telling her?

Kess rattled her head and tried to dismiss that from her mind. She stood up and went into the lavatory.

She chuckled at the craziness of all this. _Lieutenant Kesselia K. Lendra, Jedi Knight and Y-wing Repair Manager._ It must have been a good security check. No one had called her 'Kesselia' since she was knee high to a Jawa. Someone in Intelligence must really like their job.

Standing in front of the sink, she switched on the hot hypo and waited for the spray to mix. The whirring echoed through the white room and she looked at herself in the mirror. _Jedi Sidekick and Skywalker Step-Fetch-It._ She laughed stupidly and imagined how she was going to tell this story to the girly girls after this was all over.

_"Jedi Training? Riiight."_ Kayla's black eyelashes would narrow at her across the top of half-empty mugs of ale. _"But have you slept with him yet?"_

Kess smirked at the mirror with a groan at herself. "Yeah. This ain't gonna work."

The reflection in the mirror began to fuzz. Kess turned off the hot hypo only to find it wasn't steam. Her reflection was clear as crystal; it was the reflection of the shower behind her that went blurry.

And the blur brightened until an old face morphed into existence from nothing.

Kess froze in terror and recognized the ghost of her grandfather.

"Hello, Kesselia."

She stopped breathing.

"I am sorry I couldn't be there for you any longer."

_You still left us._ She was going to say. _You left._  

"Some duties take priority over family," he told her. "For me, and now for youas well."

She was still formulating her argument—

He faded back to nothing and his voice drifted into the distance, "You must trust him, Kesselia."

 


	25. LL1 24 Training Begins

**LL1       24        Training Begins**

Kess tore into the living room, gasping for air. Scared witless, she went for the only person in the room, Han, and sat down right next to him. "Where's your blaster?"

Han looked at her and heckled. "The hell happened to you?"

Her eyes went everywhere, seeing figures in the corners of her eyes, watching for moving shadows. "You wouldn't believe me... It's crazy." She realized her actions and stood up. "This is crazy!"

Han returned his attention back to the periodical in his hands. "Hey, around them two, nothing's crazy." He crossed his feet at his ankles with a murmur, "You think it's bad now? Wait until the pepper starts levitating across the table."

As if on cue, Luke erupted out his bedroom voicing concern, "What happened?"

Kess backed out of the sitting area to the wall of window. "I um… I think I just saw the ghost of my grandfather."

Luke's brows shot into his forehead. Stepped carefully toward her, he fought a grin. "Take a deep breath."

Even with him still on the other side of the room, Kess stepped backward away from the man and fell against the window. "They can _do_ that?" She snapped at him like it was all his fault.

He smiled reluctantly. "Yes, they can."

She gritted her teeth and side stepped away from his approach. "You just stay away from me."

Luke stopped his advance, grinned more, and spread his hands. "What did he say?"

Kess laughed madly at all this, "He uh, said something about duty and..." she huffed, "trusting you." She cussed under her breath and accepted the debate was over. And she lost.

Her jaw went crooked, still not wanting to admit it. "How am I supposed to know it wasn't just some trick you pulled?"

Luke took careful steps to follow her retreat. Quick movements would only spook the poor girl more. "I guess you're just going to have to trust me on that."

The message from the 'ghost' weighed heavily on his mind even though it weighed in his favor. Her grandfather must have been a Jedi, otherwise he would not have been able to appear to her. The grand scheme of things must depend on her training, otherwise he would not have appeared at all. Luke saw Obi-Wan rarely after his death, saw Master Yoda twice, and his father only once. Dead Jedi don't show up just to visit.

She slunk quickly around the dining table from him and Luke began to feel like he was herding a wildcat.

Brown eyes drilled into his, "What are you not telling me?"

Luke could only smile more, "There's _a lot_ I'm not telling you. You keep insisting you don't want to know."

The gears were visibly crunching as they tried to work this out in her head. She watched his every move. "This is a really bad idea."

He took another sneaky step around, " _Not_ training is a _worse_ idea."

She rolled her eyes and argued weakly, "You've known me for less than a week and you've already picked me as your next apprentice?"

"You're my _first_ apprentice," he corrected, "And I know you better than you think." Luke held out a hand in offering.

Kess tightened her jaw, not fully convinced this was the right decision, but accepted she couldn't debate herself out of it. She'd always wanted to be a Jedi, even though she was never sure what 'being a Jedi' really meant. She studied the woolen fabric of his black uniform and looked up at his face.

Kess decided she could convince her father that becoming a Jedi on purpose is better than becoming a Sith by accident. Her father was going to have her hide, but at least she'd be able to defend herself when he did. As if he had a magnet in his fingers, her hand was drawn to take his. "All right. You win."

Luke was so thrilled he wanted to hug her, but he only smiled. He dropped her hand to lead her to the elevator and walked behind her to it, requesting a car.

The reflective doors slid aside. He walked in and leaned his back to the wall, crossing his arms and crossing his ankles. She silently followed with her head bowed in a kind of defeat. Folding her arms tightly at her chest, she stared at the floor and leaned her back against the opposite wall. The doors slid closed.

A heavy silence filled the enclosed air. Luke sensed she was still having trouble with her decision and hoped she wouldn't change her mind. He also recognized that there was more to his desire to get her to train than the simple need to make more Jedi Knights. His sights fell to the elevator's carpet. He wanted company.

"How long will this take?" her meek voice echoed in the close confines.

Luke looked up again, thinking, and shrugged. "An hour maybe."

"No, no." She squared her shoulders and adjusted her feet, "I mean the whole training… thing?"

The commitment lifted a light in Luke's eyes. When the doors slid open, he stood on both feet, dropping his arms, and admitted as if he liked it, "I have no idea."

Her brow furrowed at him as she followed.

Luke looked both ways and went left. He strolled down the hall. The lobby was the same blue and lavender as the suite. Polished walls of the ground floor had no windows. The sitting areas, the small bar, and the gambling tables, were all cleaned for the next day and void of human, alien, or droid. He stopped in front of the exit doors and turned curiously at her. "Does it matter?"

"Well," Kess stopped in front of him with a shrug, "Do we get _paid_?"

Luke flashed a smile of humor and turned his feet to head for the door. "Not exactly, no."

Kess slapped her thighs again to follow him out. "Then I guess it doesn't matter."

The salty breeze returned to send a blond lock of hair across her cheek. They stepped out to the landscaped courtyard. Brick pathways wound in and out of giant, red-barked trees. Stubby lamps dotted the walk between bushes and flowers. A bird cawed as it flew away. Boots thumped on the brick as they strolled.

Luke started calculating. "Your training will have to come first even though it will seem like an extra-curricular activity. I'm here for the treaty and you're here to fix the _Falcon_. Even when we get back, I'm still commanding Rogue Group and you're going back to Gold Group."

He led the stroll away from the hotel and toward that continent-sized empty spot in the landscape that made up the suite's gracious view of an unblemished sky. "You'll need to wake up with me every morning. We'll train before work and again after dinner."

He found a little hill off the path rimmed with several big trees. He stopped his feet there. He felt three fluffy-tailed rodents climbing through the brush to their home. There were trimmed bushes and little bunches of planted flowers here. The little spot of nature wasn't strong in the Force, but the pocket of gentle life was stronger and calming than the mess of busy minds in the hotel.

He turned as she approached. "Most of it will need to be practiced during routine events anyway."

Kess stopped with him, not noticing the change in pace. "What do _you_ know about my 'routine events'?"

Luke shrugged his eyebrows and nudged her by the shoulder to pass him by. He led her off the path and guided her to face the wall of trees. He positioned himself behind her as if there was a beautiful view for them both to enjoy. "What do you see?"

Kess shrugged, "A bunch of trees."

Luke nodded. That was what he expected her to say, "Close your eyes."

Kess closed her eyes.

Luke backed away a single pace, "Open your mind."

He let down his defenses so he could feel her emotions during all this. His own nervousness washed over his soul. He was treading on new ground now. _Training has begun; no room for mistakes_.

As for her, the indecision was dissolving only because of her stronger curiosity, but that was good enough for now.

"Life creates the Force and consumes it at the same time. The Force flows through everything from the vacuum of space, to planets, the people, even the trees in front of you... It binds us all together." He felt unoriginal quoting both of his Masters in the same instruction, but really couldn't think of a better way to put it. "When you move, the Force moves with you, it pushes ahead of you, and it swirls behind you. When you're just standing there, it flows right through you, like it is _right now_."

She struggled, but tried. "Like water? Or an electromagnetic field?"

Luke stretched his mouth a little, "Sort of. It's that sixth sense everyone feels, it's psychic ability, it's extrasensory perception, it's emotion, it's prayer. It's just being called different things in different religions."

He took a secret step around to spy her expression as she faced the trees. Her eyes were still closed.

Luke bit back his hesitation to do something that _should_ have been rudely forward, but he reminded himself this was training and did it anyway. He snuck inside her mind to sense where her attentions focused.

She had no idea he was in there. Her focus was on smelling the vegetation. She listened to an animal crawling in the brush. She felt the breeze on the skin of her hands and face. She wasn't getting it, but she was trying.

Luke opened his eyes again. "Concentrate on all your senses at once."

The sleeves of her coveralls fluttered against her skin. The tang of salt touched her tongue. The leaves rustled against leaves. Scents of earth and fresh oxygen filled her nose. She even tried to look at the insides of her eyelids.

"Your emotions are a sense too," he guided.

"How can-"

"What are you _feeling_?" He knew she could do it if she could just break through the confines of the third dimension. She had to open her mind _more_ , except that she didn't know she _could_.

Kess shrugged, confused, but remained attentive nonetheless.

Luke scratched his earlobe in thought. He decided to try amplifying the Force to call her mental attention to a sense she never knew she had. It was like trying to 'tell' a muscle to move instead of just _moving it_. It was almost impossible to find such a thing until the muscle was already flexed.

Luke closed his eyes and reached back with his hand, swishing it forward to 'push' the Force swirling through her.

Kess gasped for air.

Her arms rose as though she was standing chest deep in a river of water. Her mouth remained open in shock and her eyes closed in concentration.

Luke smiled. He took a step backward and listened to her mind go wild.

There was more to the wind than air and there was more to the air than oxygen. It wasn't _one_ extra sense, it was- like- _twelve_! She could feel without using her skin. She could smell without using her nose. She could hear as though nature was using a giant microphone connected directly into her brain. She could see colors in the darkness of her eyelids. She could feel emotions that weren't even hers. And there was this giant glowing glob standing on the path behind her.

She started to lose it when she began to turn—

Luke stepped back farther. "Now say something."

"How co-" She heard her own voice echo in a dozen musical notes in her mind. She talked through an electric organ and felt the vibration of the sound in her heartbeat. _"How come I couldn't do this before?"_

Wallowing in glee, Luke crossed his arms and dropped a shoulder against a tree. He spoke with only his mind, sending a dozen deep musical notes at her on the Force, _"You **were** doing this before. Only you were doing it much, much **louder**."_

 

 

 


	26. LL1 25 The Beach

** LL1       25        The Beach **

It was a very, very long day.

Kess followed Artoo into the elevator and rested her body against the reflecting walls not really caring if the grease of her coveralls smeared onto the meticulously clean surface. Her eyes drifted closed and open again, paying no attention to the unbelievably alert Wookiee, and reviewed how dirty she had gotten from one day of work on the _Falcon_.

Her exhaustion didn't surprise her. The morning started out all wrong. Getting in a fight with Luke on the way into the Frakkan System had spent enough of her energy in worry alone, much less the fact that they had been up for 25 hours already. First, the _Falcon_ breaks down in hyperspace, then the Star Destroyers, and then her first taste of the Force...

Kess smiled as she remembered Luke's giddy grin about it (which was after she finally built up the guts to turn around.) In only a half an hour, he began his series of teachings. Kind, firm, and very much to the point, he instructed her on the basics of simply how to sense the Force itself.

But that quiet peace in the courtyard came to a quick end. Chewbacca and Kess were ushered off to begin repairs before the Ambassador arrived. Leia explained the Frakkan government would assume that Chewie and Kess were a part of the negotiating party. She wanted to make it clear on the first day that Kess was in repair and Chewie was posing as the ship's Captain, and both were here strictly to transport the group and fix the _Falcon_ , not negotiate.

Kess shrugged it off knowing the Councilor simply didn't want the gruff and rude Wookiee or the uneducated-in-politics Lieutenant to make any mistakes at the formal breakfast as they probably would have.

She remembered adjusting her ball cap over her braids as she grinned to the polished politicians getting ready for their engagement. "So sorry to put a damper on your awesome plan," she had said sarcastically, "but how am I supposed to pretend Chewie's my Skipper if I can't understand a word he says?"

Han explained matter-of-factly, pointing at each as he spoke. "You understand Artoo, Artoo understands Chewie. Bluff it!"

Artoo swiveled his head toward Kess and warbled pessimistically, " _We are going to die._ "

The droid had more than enough wear on his speakers translating every derogatory comment Chewie made in Kess' direction. Regardless of her argument about the priorities on the repair order list, Chewie ordered her to find all hull breaches and write up a list of the parts therein that needed replacement. She spent the day stuffed into more than a dozen tiny, grimy, unlit cracks, storage compartments, and crawl ways that hadn't seen attention in years.

Kess looked at herself in the reflective elevator wall. The army green jumpsuit was so smeared with black grease and dirt from her collar to her ankles as though the solid-color fabric were deliberately camouflaged for the jungle.

The car stopped and Chewie punched his card key into the slot. The door slid open and sunlight poured into the elevator. Kess stepped out to find that curved wall of window, the one that was taking up one entire side of the hotel suite, _wasn't_ designed for displaying a starry sky.

She stepped closer to the panoramic view of a glorious orange sunset from fifty stories above the ground. The golden circle of Frakkan's star was just touching on a blue-violet linoleum horizon. Awestruck, Kess moved through the sitting area, ignoring the others on her way to the window.

"Strange sight, isn't it?" Luke had already changed into an ivory shirt and tan trousers, leaning his shoulder fearlessly against the wall of glass only a few paces away. He admired the view as well but was now grinning at her reaction to it.

Her focus traveled from the bright star to where the sunlight reflected on a thousand tiny curves of the peacock-colored surface. The blue laminate seemed to cover half the planet, orange reflections at the horizon flickered on a royal blue in the distance and fading to plum then mauve as it reached the reddish sand below. Giant foamy waves of liquid curled over on itself and crashed onto the red beach behind the hotel.

Kess pressed her palms and nose on the glass like a little kid. "Is all that… _water?_ "

Luke chuckled low in his chest.

"It's just _sitting_ _there_."

Luke's eyes stretched back to take it all in, murmuring passively. "They probably harvest the fresh stuff that doesn't have things living in it."

Kess turned to Luke with eager eyes. "Can we go down and take a closer look?"

Luke tried not to grin at her and shrugged, "Sure."

Kess took a few minutes to scrub herself clean of the grime and change into fresh clothes. She felt rejuvenated despite the lack of sleep. Excited like they were headed for an amusement park, she skipped into the elevator and looked eagerly to the window before the ocean view disappeared.

Luke eyed her strangely, humored, albeit confused, at her antics.

She combed a blond lock away from her temple, crossed her arms, and blurted brightly. "So!" Her voice settled into a placating tone, "How was your day?"

Luke laughed lightly again, "All right, I guess." He folded his arms at his chest and leaned against the wall. Rolled sleeves receded from his muscular forearms. "How was yours?" he returned comically.

She rattled absently, "I'd rather be playing Sabacc." Her attentions focused on his chest. Her eyes moved to his shoulders, then his forearms. Kess angled her head and quizzically looked him up and down.

Luke began to feel a little uncomfortable as the Lieutenant studied his body like some unidentified life form, but he could feel the curious question forming. He waited.

She asked without wording it first. "Why are you in such good shape?"

Luke's squinting eyes dashed to the floor and back at her. He grinned as he stated the obvious, "Because I work out a lot?"

Embarrassment flushed on the Force. She smiled sheepishly, realizing what this must have sounded like. "No. What I mean is, why do you bother? If you can move things with your mind and accent your strength with the Force, why go out of your way?"

He nodded, finally understanding the question. "I don't depend on the Force. I can't use it all the time. So I try not using it unless I have to."

"Why can't you use it all the time?"

The elevator door opened. Luke led the stroll out, pondering a way to approach the first lesson. He slid his hands into the thin fabric of his front pockets and walked casually to the same courtyard they visited that morning. "There are two sides of the Force," he began, meeting her eyes and looking away, "the light side and the dark side. The light side is comprised of peace, knowledge, serenity. The dark side is anger, fear, aggression and so on. A Jedi Knight is a servant of the light side of the Force, exercising the ability _only_ at times of peace."

Kess kept up attentively, "So what do you do when you're pissed off and you still have to fight?"

"That's simple." He punched the door control and met her eyes, "Don't get pissed off."

"That doesn't sound so easy to me."

"I said it was _simple_ ," he smiled gritting teeth, "I didn't say it was _easy_."

Kess passed him and marched into the bright daylight.

Luke followed her. "Since it's nearly impossible to control when you will be fighting, concentrations have to go toward controlling your dark emotions. When the time comes, you'll be prepared to defend yourself on the light side."

Short pine trees shaded their path from the twilight. The cool breeze grew stronger as they passed the tiny pocket of trees they visited the night before. The foot walk dribbled deeper into the garden, disappearing into the bushes ahead and heading directly for the ocean.

Kess scanned the plant life of Frakkan as they passed. "So how do you control your emotions?" Suddenly, she smiled, big and embarrassed, remembering his many attempts to calm her down on the trip. "I just figured out my first lesson, didn't I?"

Luke heckled sarcastically, "You have tremendous insight." After strolling a few more paces, he said, "There is a mantra we use to help remind us where our priorities lie, how to tell the good side from the bad, and to calm emotions that are out of control. It's called the Jedi Code. 'There is no emotion; there is peace. There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is serenity. There is no death; there is the Force.'"

As they walked, he watched her for her response to that. He could see her mind chewing on it and trying to decide if she liked how it tasted. She scratched her ear as she thought about it and absentmindedly whipped her sandy hair over her shoulder. "It sounds to me like all you need is a good frontal lobotomy and you've mastered it."

Luke fought a smirk, "If the Code is followed to its logical end, that's true. But as a Jedi, you still have enough emotion to care about what you're doing and why. You can still see right and wrong. You can still be happy and sad. You can still have victories and failures. You just need to control the intensity of it."

Kess grimaced, "Sounds boring."

Luke smiled white teeth, "Oh no." He shook his head at the brick beneath his feet. "Being a Jedi is far from boring." He sighed heavily, looking ahead to the path and where it led them. The thin, sculptured forest was about to come to an abrupt halt, "Besides, boredom is an effect of not knowing what to do with peace. A Jedi does not crave excitement, or wealth, or power..." His voice died as he realized she was no longer listening.

Kess' focus was lured to the finish line. She sped up her pace and watched the trees move out of her way to reveal a giant blue-purple ocean. Foamy waves crashed on the shore of rust-colored sand in a powerful, irregular pattern. As the brick path came to an end, her boots sank into the soft mounds. Her eyes filled with wonder as she crossed the wide swath of empty beach. Few patrons dotted the expansive sand in the distance. The sun dipped behind the planet, turning the sky a rainbow of peach and ash orange. Kess stopped where the sand was still wet, afraid to touch the precious liquid regardless of its abundance here. She watched the waves swell to several metres high, curling over and tripping on itself, reaching towards her in a flat sheet of foam, and finally retreat, just to perform the whole thing over and over and over again.

"Why do you want to become a Jedi?" Luke's voice snuck in, deeply curious.

Startled, she turned to find him beside her, watching her instead of the view. She looked back to the ocean, taking it all in. "I'm really more interested in the Force than the title. I know it's there. I've always known it's there and I've always known that I had the ability to touch it..." She reached out ahead of her, touching the sea breeze as it brushed passed her fingers. "I just could never figure out how to do it."

Luke stepped up beside her, adjusting his hands in his pockets. "If you suddenly had the ability to manipulate the Force in any way you wanted... what is the first thing you would do?"

Kess inhaled and stopped. A dozen things rushed to her mind. She wanted to manipulate her father's opinion about it. She wanted to know how Shorkey really felt about her engineering abilities. She wanted to alter Solo's attitude and _make_ him let her into the navicomputer… but the ocean called her with every crashing wave. The water reached for her feet and slowly pulled away, like a giant beckoning finger. She stared out over the water and said in a distant voice, "I'd hear what the ocean has to say."

Luke let himself smile and back up a step. With an open hand to the vast spread of salt water, he offered it to her. "Then, by all means, listen."

For hours, Kess practiced the art of simply sensing things. The ocean, the trees, and the sand were some of the first things she could identify to sense. Then Luke had to turn her attentions onto things that she couldn't see with her eyes: the ants, the mugrats under the sand, crustaceans in the sea, the wind. He encouraged her to hear and smell, to feel different things using few words and none of his own Force tricks to help. She had to explore it on her own.

Concentrating with her eyes closed for most of the exercise, she hadn't noticed that the sun had entirely disappeared for another revolution. The sky was black with pinpricks of stars, satellites, and ships. She yawned.

Sitting next to her in the dry sand, Luke took the hint, and just before he finished the lesson, he taught her one more exercise.

"Meditation?" She echoed with a snarl.

"It's necessary to keep your emotions in check. Every day. As many times a day as you have to but _at least_ every day. Eventually you'll sleep in a thicker version of it but for now it will keep you from having nightmares."

She stretched a brow. "I really don't have nightmares that often."

He stretched a grin. "I really don't care."

The technique was so simple she could have guessed it. Close your eyes, breathe slowly, and think of nothing. Though it seemed stupid to her (besides being nearly impossible to think of nothing), she obliged his instruction and went quietly, tiredly, to bed.

 

 

 


	27. LL1 26 The Morning Run

**LL1       26        The Morning Run**

Luke's eyes opened to the darkness at exactly zero five hundred. He sat up with fervor and dressed quickly in exercise clothes. In the silence of pre-dawn, he could hear the muffled voice of Kess' alarm, but Kess didn't move.

Luke smiled at this. He knew that this was going to be the hard part: getting her up in the morning. While tending to the last button on his shirt, he went to her bedroom door and pressed the button.

The door beeped. It was locked.

Through the door, he could hear the alarm activate. He paused to see if she was going to rise. She didn't.

Luke grinned inwardly. _Ah, the memories of Boot Camp._

He put his thoughts to the door lock and flicked it easily open. Luke stomped boldly into the woman's dark bedroom and snapped on the lights.

Kess groaned, shading her eyes with the blanket.

Luke ignored her complaint, grabbed her blankets with both hands and yanked them right off her body. The woman curled up in a fetal position. "Get up!" He ordered gruffly.

For a split second, Luke cursed himself for not checking for pajamas before he ripped the blankets off of her but thanked the Force that she was wearing something.

Kess rolled out of bed and landed on her feet. She gathered her fitful hair with both hands and hissed at him through squinting eyes. "Did I mention I hate getting up this early?"

"Tsk tsk." Luke shook his finger, "Hate is on the dark side." He pulled out a set of exercise clothes from her cupboard and threw them at her, "You're going to have to learn to like it."

Kess leered and let the clothes dribble down the front of her body without trying to catch them.

Luke strutted back to the door. "You have five minutes before I come in and dress you myself."

Kess flopped to sit on the bed. She considered _not_ dressing just to see if he would do it. She began to change and grinned fiendishly at the thought.

The Jedi was painfully awake for zero five fifteen. He made a haughty comment about her grouchiness, but that only made her grouchiness worse. His voice was too loud and his face too bright all the way out to the courtyard.

Kess followed him sluggishly, barely taking her feet off the ground to walk. He was like a five-year-old on a sugar high and all Kess wanted was to go back to bed. She wondered what traumatic event in the man's life made his brain so badly malfunction. "Has anyone ever told you that you're sick in the head?"

Luke stretched his sleepy muscles and smiled at her. "Not until today." He bounced on his toes and moved towards the beach. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

Her brows knotted as hard as they would go. "For you, I think crazy is an understatement." She dragged her feet along the walk behind him until her shoes were digging into reddish sand.

Luke started jogging backward. "Run."

Kess stopped her feet. "You have _got_ to be kidding."

He stopped and slumped his shoulders, racking his brain for ways to effectively motivate the woman. He looked at her with a huff, realized that his disposition was having no effect on her disposition, and looked around for some idea, some clue...

"Luke, I've already been through boot camp. I don't need to do stuff like this." Kess stepped in front of him with arms hanging limply at her sides. "And nothing you can say to me will convince me that running down a beach at oh-five-hundred has anything to do with the Force."

Luke's leveled his gaze at her sleepy eyes. "Run. Or I will throw you in the water."

Kess wanted to say 'you wouldn't dare', but she could tell by his giddy little smirk that he would dare and would probably enjoy it too.

Kess eyed the dark distant surf as she pursed her lips and crossed her arms, deeply considering these options. Making Luke Skywalker carry her across the beach just might be worth drowning.

But Luke didn't step any closer, or dive at her to throw her body onto his shoulder, or reach for her with his hands. He simply splayed his palms beside his own body and closed his eyes.

Kess felt pressure tighten around both ankles and lift her feet up from the sand. She panicked and squealed. Her arms waved in the air to keep her balance, but she kicked and struggled to try to pull her feet out of the invisible grip. He let go and she spilled onto the sand in an ungraceful heap.

Luke never got closer than a meter and now backed up several more paces so she could get up on her own.

Kess scrambled back to her feet. She brushed the red sand from her black sweats and glared at him with gritting teeth.

Luke shrugged and grinned. "There's more where that came from," and began jogging backward with a smug glint in his eye.

She found only enough energy to clench her jaw in anger. Kess jogged reluctantly down the beach. 

The twinkle brightened in his eye when she began to move. Luke kept up with her pace following close by her flank. "I said run, not jog."

Kess closed her eyes for a moment to keep her temper. She hoped that, if she followed his stupid orders for exercise, the exercise wouldn't last long. Somehow she knew she was wrong. She sped up a little.

"C'mon!" He urged, "You have to break a sweat at least! Faster."

Kess reminded herself there was probably more to the Force than she could imagine right now. If she didn't follow his instruction to run, he would probably think of something more absurd. She was here to learn the ways of the Jedi and he was here to teach her that.

She picked up the pace, and Luke kept up behind.

He growled with a sort of happy tone in his voice. "Faster!" It was as though he'd been running like this for years and reveled in the fact that he finally had somebody to run with.

How much was enough? Maybe he was just trying to break her attitude like they did in boot camp. She was tired of games and decided, in a fury of resentment, to give him exactly what he wanted.

Kess bolted down the beach, running as fast as she could so he would shut up. She kicked rooster tails of sand behind her for a half kilometre, as far as her legs and lungs could take her at that speed. She could hear Luke panting behind her, but he kept up easily. The sky began to brighten with the approaching sun. Kess ran until her chest heaved for air and, after a long sprint, finally brought the mad dash to a skidding stop.

Locking her elbow on her knees, she panted at the wet sand beneath her feet.

Luke trotted to a stop in front of her, putting his hand on his knees just so he could look her in the eye. Beads of clean sweat dripped from his forehead. His lungs heaved for air as well, but not nearly with the same desperation as hers.

Her voice barked with impatience, "Are you satisfied now?"

He panted and smiled. "Are you still angry at me for waking you up and making you run?"

Kess shot a glare at him. Of course she was.

Luke shrugged as he jogged backward to continue, "Then I'm not satisfied."

 

 


	28. LL1 27 Shopping for Parts

**LL1       27        Shopping for Parts**

In a guest chair, Ambassador Shuley stared at her set of notes from a datapad. She only read, keeping the facts straight in her mind and adjusting priorities to accommodate. She would not accept failure on her first ambassadorial assignment, and her relentlessness was starting to get on Daitahn's nerves.

Vice Governor Daitahn reviewed his own report for perfection on his laptop while waiting for Governor Levilot to arrive. The smooth hide covering the guest chair made the gray uniform want to slide right off. He had to adjust himself the seat every few minutes to maintain his sitting position and keep the computer balancing on his lap.

The door behind them swished open. Levilot strutted in with a purpose, dropping a datapad on each of their laps as he passed to the desk in the rented office. " _Lak dota, mi kala._ " He spoke Frakkan in a rich accent, addressing them as friends to make it sound casual. He reviewed the 'new news' from the third datapad and planned the discussion while they put down their own reports to read it for the first time.

Shuley was the first to comment. "Mugwot Pon was going by the information _we gave him_. With those vague clues, there _is_ no definite identification for the Usak."

"Except for Jedi Skywalker," Daitahn added. "And we can't ask him to confirm it for us."

Levilot held up a hand for silence. His assistants immediately obliged.

With a heavy sigh, he began, "Whether or not Mugwot Pon has given us a true Usak is of little concern. Our goal is to convince the Supreme Prophet and Admiral Cheenan that we have the Usak they are seeking. I believe we can accomplish that if Jedi Skywalker endorses it."

Daitahn brought up an impatient hand, "How is Skywalker going to endorse the Usak if we don't ask him?"

The Governor rose, stepping thoughtfully to the side of his desk. "By watching him. Skywalker will eventually notice it. We will record his every word and movement, using _that_ as his endorsement. We simply need to buy time until he does. Shuley has opened negotiations for the post-severance treaty and she will concentrate on that until sufficient data has been collected. You are tending to the whims of our fearless Admiral and will continue to do so until he leaves. As for this report..." he sighed, glancing at the datapad on his desk. "I'm going to assume that we are not the only system trying to use this bargaining chip with which to sever from the Empire. So we have to move quickly and come up with the most convincing Usak that Kadaan can imagine."

Shuley listened obediently, but something still bothered her. "And if the Princess doesn't relinquish Usak rights?"

Levilot tightened his lips. "The New Alliance is a forgiving government, but still I don't want to create unnecessary friction. They nearly sacrificed Skywalker himself to destroy the second Death Star; I'm sure they'll certainly sacrifice an Usak for our propulsion industry. We shall proceed on the assumption they will relinquish, but I'm prepared to steal the Usak if we have to."

* * *

"C'mon Artoo," Kess motioned.

The droid rolled up behind her ready to follow her out of the docking bay. Chewie wanted Artoo to accompany her only because he didn't trust the Lieutenant out in the Imperial-ruled city alone. Kess had no official experience acting under cover, but the task was easy and all the information was provided. This was as good a time as any to get her feet wet.

She shoved the commlink in her front pocket and bounced out onto one of Sultani's main streets. This was the biggest benefit of an Alliance commission: the excitement of visiting new planets and meeting new species, to adapt to other cultures and see other ways of life. Her insides sizzled with fascination.

In the bright blue daylight, the street bustled with activity. Speeders of all shapes and colors zipped up the white paved road to unknown destinations. Many more were parked at the curbs while their owners visited shops, restaurants, and beaches. Their hotel was on the same side of the same street, looming over fifty stories tall of clean glass walls, but the building was nearly camouflaged among rows of similar mirror-like buildings that met at least that height and taller. Small shops of every kind, crowded with pastel-clad Frakkans, occupied the first floor of nearly every skyscraper. With theirs and many other obvious docking pads scattered up and down the street, Kess was bound to find a parts shop within walking distance.

She paid attention to the plant life: dark green, mostly pines. She studied the architecture: streamlined and clean-cut. She noticed the people: well-dressed, short hair. No. The men had short hair in blonds and browns, but the women all had their hair tied up in a ring that sat on top of their heads, and all shades of red, auburn, and orange.

Artoo whistled from behind.

"When is that monster _not_ hungry?" Kess didn't slow her anxious stride. "What kind of food does Chewie like?"

Artoo whistled again, dodging other pedestrians that took no notice of him.

Kess shrugged, "Okay, let me know if you see something tasty." Her eyes fell upon a parts store across the street and up a block.

Quickly, she hopped off the curb and zipped between racing speeders. In seconds, she stepped into the polished store with Artoo at her heels. It was just what the doctor ordered. Scanning the aisles, she found either exactly what she was looking for or something that would work in its place. Few patrons occupied the aisles, giving Kess the elbowroom to browse a bit. Her efforts led her to sections she had no need of visiting, and Artoo beeped indignantly when she slowly picked up a hilt-like, hollow cylinder.

Artoo whistled a warning.

"Why not?" Kess grinned, holding the cylinder in her hand and moving it in the air as she imagined a blade at its end. "I designed the blasted thing. I should be able to see if it will work. Besides, he might take the effort as extra credit homework."

Artoo shook his dome head in defeat, but he kept up to her new focus of collecting pieces for a practice lightsaber.

Over the past week, her sleeping rhythm fought the new pattern with an uncontrollable wave of grouchiness. But after repeated threats of being rudely tossed into the water, her logical side forced her out of bed more timely with each passing day. Luke pushed her into heavy exercise in the chilly morning air. Each day he ran her farther and faster down the beach, rewarding with no more than a smile at the end of it. Each evening he concentrated on quiet and peaceful meditation exercises, pulling her farther and farther down the path to serenity. Kess enjoyed the evenings better.

When Kess was outside of his direct influence, however, her emotional state didn't venture far from the quick-tempered grease grunt she was long before the trip to the Frakkan System began. More than once, Luke pointed out that her meditation exercises needed to be practiced during the day. More than once, Kess acknowledged his direction with fervor, swearing allegiance, even in her own mind.

But when an electro-mechanic issue, or a small wiring detail, or the ranges of a particular reading, rose between her and Chewbacca, her Jedi lessons were, for the moment, forgotten. Kess kept getting into yelling matches with the Wookiee and with Solo, sometimes ignoring them entirely and throwing a hand tool viciously at the hull instead.

After a few minutes, Kess would realize she had lost her temper and calmed herself down, secretly regretting the incident, and swore to herself to do better next time.

She suspected Luke somehow knew of her quick fits of anger. Whether Chewie was reporting them, or Luke watched her through some Force trick he'd failed to mention, he seemed to be completely aware that his instructions were forgotten on the job. Kess assumed it was the reason for his relentless running punishment.

Her thoughts defended him, however. He was no drill instructor. Somehow, with calm words and smiling urges, he managed to make her _want_ to succeed. He never raised his voice and never used harsh words. He never belittled her or humiliated her. Neither deliberately nor by accident, he never hurt her feelings in any way. And he never, _ever_ made a motion to strike her.

She would study his expressions as he ran or as he talked, trying to get some idea of what was going through his mind besides what he was actually saying. Each curious incident left her with the urge to pull a quiet smile out of him (her usual reward to any success) and the desire for that reward grew like an addiction. Maybe, just maybe, Luke would smile at the new collection of lightsaber parts.

With three bags hanging from her fists, Kess led Artoo back out to the busy sidewalk and prepared to head back. The lunch Artoo picked out was a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, which would have been okay with Kess if she could recognize the food in the first place. Artoo seemed to know what he was doing and selected a half a dozen types of red and green roots, bulbs, and fruits.

Dodging bodies down the main street, Kess eyed the building that was their docking bay up several blocks. As her eyesight came back down to the sidewalk ahead, she noticed two bodies in white armor and carrying blasters. Stormtroopers!

Kess gulped. She reminded herself she was undercover. She had her fake identichip, and she had her story. All she had to do was zip by them just like everyone else.

She then realized she was the only woman on the street with blond hair that hung down her back instead of a red-haired round bun. But wait, she wasn't supposed to be from here in the first place. _Calm_ _down_ , she told herself, _don't panic_. She felt a twinge on the Force and turned to its direction. In a flash of red hair and wide eyes, a young woman appeared from the crowd and rammed Kess in the chest.

BLAM!

A tumble of bodies, fruit, and hardware parts went skittering across the sidewalk. Kess blinked from the fall, focusing on a girl no more than twenty-years-old whose long cherry-tinted hair was in wilder disarray than Kess'.

The girl didn't look at her, but _passed_ her to catch a glimpse of her pursuers. One hand closed around a yellow crystal that fell out of Kess' bag and Kess was sure the other hand closed around something else. The redhead bounced back to her feet and resumed her mad dash through the crowds with two handfuls of Kess' shopping.

"Hey!" Kess complained. The crystal would have made the oscillation for a lightsaber's blade. She only found one within the frequency range she needed for the project.

The woman plowed through pedestrians until she saw the same stormtroopers Kess had already seen. The woman's path angled to cross the street and avoid them. Several stormtroopers followed as fast as their armor would let them run.

"Are you all right," asked a static voice.

Kess looked up from her tangled position on the sidewalk. The gleaming white armor of another stormtrooper towered over her. His black and white gloved hand reached down to offer her help up.

It took a moment for Kess to register that a stormtrooper stopped to help her, but before her shock became obvious, four more stormtroopers burst out of the crowd, swarmed around her in a shuffle of armored boots, and kept chasing their prey down the street.

Kess looked up again, finding the stormtrooper still standing there, and took his gloved hand. "Aren't you going to help your pals?" She asked, brushing the wrinkles from her coveralls, and started collecting her things from the ground.

His electronic voice sounded like a recording, "On guard in case she doubles back." He took his rifle with both hands again and lifted his chin to watch the chase.

Kess knelt down to pick up her scattered belongings and watched the other stormtroopers cross the street and tackle the young thing. The girl screamed and struggled.

"Imperial troops after a common thief?" Kess asked as any concerned citizen would. The local authorities should be handling a criminal of such a misdemeanor.

"She's an Imperial fugitive." The stormtrooper replied and then looked at Kess with his black goggles. "How did you know her conviction was theft?"

Kess didn't hesitate, "She stole something from me when we fell. I saw her pick up some of my stuff."

The trooper nodded, "What did she take? I'll get it back for you."

"Er, I'm not—

The stormtrooper burst into a run across the street to the other gathering.

Kess looked. The girl had slipped from their grasp as was high-tailing it passed Kess' hotel building. A half a dozen stormtroopers weaved through the crowd behind, yelling for people to move out of their way.

When the commotion passed, pedestrians went about their business and so did Kess.

  


 


	29. LL1 28 Usak Riddle

** LL1       28        Usak Riddle **

The elevator car stopped at the top and Kess reached into her pocket but it was empty. She searched other pockets. Nothing. Thinking back, she remembered accidentally pulling it out with her credit chip when she went shopping. She must have thrown it into the bag. She looked in the bag of lightsaber parts.

No card key.

She let out a frustrated sigh and pressed the access button. It buzzed as it depressed. In a few seconds, Han's voice came over the speaker sounding like an off-duty stormtrooper, if there was such a thing. "Yeah?"

"It's me, Lendra. I can't find my card key." She knew she was going to catch hell for this.

The doors slid open. Han stood inside like the impatient father of a teenager. "You lost your card key?"

"It's probably still on the _Falcon,_ " Kess told him.

Leia and Luke were sitting around the table with datapads and notebooks galore. Their furrowed brows and tired sighs were standard issue by now. Han sat back down with them to complete the same scene Kess had been coming home to for a week now.

"Where's Chewie?" Solo grumbled.

Kess took a seat in the lowered sitting area. "Artoo said he went to find a drink and a game. He took Threepio with him."

They ignored Kess, so Kess ignored them. She poured the contents out of the bag onto the flat-cushioned footrest and started picking through brand new parts.

"Great," Leia grunted, "Just when we need Threepio he's not around."

Luke leaned his elbows in on the table and returned to the conversation pre-interruption. "I can't think of any respectable reason why they would ask for it in the communiqué and not ask for it now. I have a feeling they're going to wait until the treaty is settled and then demand it in the end."

Kess half-listened to the discussion, but went about her business getting the dud lightsaber schematic and pocket-sized tools from her room. She returned to the couch and hunched over the bag of solid-state pieces, a cylindrical case of nickel, and a handful of brass flanges. She began to peel parts from their wrappings and lay them out in a pile of clean metal and carbon.

"I'd like to think they simply changed their mind," Han said hopefully and pessimistically at the same time.

Kess pulled out a screwdriver from a shin pocket and began with the first piece. She glanced at Luke and wondered if he would stop her or smile. Lost in the treaty discussion, he didn't seem to notice her activity.

Leia recited an old transmission. "The Imperial Rule will flourish; if fulfilled the powers we lack; the Force itself will nourish; must sacrifice the Usak."

Luke rubbed his eyelids with thumb and forefinger and sighed. "It's definitely one of Kadaan's riddles."

Kess recognized the name of the Supreme Prophet that took over the Empire after the fall of Palpatine. She thought about the riddle and picked apart the clues as she picked apart the pile of saber pieces. Her mind worked on both puzzles at once.

Leia sighed. "Whatever it is, they want it pretty badly, but I can't think of _anything_ the Empire would give up an entire system over."

Luke leaned back, thinking hard. Maybe he just needed to look at the mystery from a different angle, a fresh mind. The first week of treaty negotiations was rocky, but they were moving forward. His brain swarmed in rights, issues, laws, and other extremely detailed politics that he simply did not enjoy. With the treaty and training going on at the same time, he hadn't spent much time resting. Luke had been working too hard. And he scolded himself about it. He always worked too hard.

He watched Kess across the room, hunched over a small pile of electro-mechanics and squinting her eyes as she built a handheld puzzle. Braid-kinked hair fell over the green shoulder of her jumpsuit. He could see the slightly darker square on her right collar where she usually wore blue dots on silver of a Lieutenant rank insignia.

Silently, he thanked Obi-Wan for pointing out someone with which he could study the Force. He finally had someone who could intelligently argue his decisions, counter his opinions, and comment on new aspects of the Force with a fresh mind.

_A fresh mind._

"Kess." Luke stood abruptly from the table and took a datapad with him as he crossed the room to her. "We need your opinion on something."

The startled woman sat up straight and watched him sit in the opposite chair. "Who? Me?" she pointed innocently her herself.

Luke nodded. "The Frakkans asked for something called an Usak in their message when they requested a treaty negotiation, but it wasn't in the proposal when we got here and we're afraid it's going to come up later." He paused for a breath.

"And you can't figure out what it is." Kess finished for him, leaning forward to her parts again.

Luke adjusted his chin. "So you _have_ been paying attention."

"Kind of." She shrugged and rolled the handheld wad of durasteel in her hand, "I don't understand most of the stuff you guys talk about."

"You think you can help us with this Usak riddle?"

Kess picked up a metallic contraption and readied to lock a piece in place. "The riddle doesn't say enough. Obviously, the Imperials think they'll regain power if the Usak is sacrificed. But 'the Force itself will nourish'? Does that mean the Force will nourish the Usak? Or the 'powers we lack'?"

"We intercepted that riddle along with an offer that if the Frakkan government would find the Usak for the Empire, Kadaan would remove his forces from the system peacefully."

Kess thumbed her chin. "But you know they don't have it because they asked you for it."

He nodded. "We found a little from a Frakkan scripture but it's a direct translation so it's kind of vague," Luke raised the datapad to read. "The Usak is a tool of the (no translation) dimension. Once the Usak is shared, strength multiplies in the Frakkan dimension."

Kess narrowed her eyes in thought. "Is this other dimension the Force?"

He leaned back in the chair and rubbed his chin. "Could be," he said. He'd already thought of that.

Kess paused to meet his eyes, "It's you."

Luke didn't flinch. He'd thought of that too. "Basis?"

She returned her attentions to the contraption in her hand as she explained. "Imagine the Force is simply another solid dimension. Some things and some people exist in either one or the other; some exist in both. The Usak is a product of the other dimension (the Force), and is represented in this dimension (as a human), and Kadaan is convinced that he will bring down the Empire once his powers are 'shared' (taught to someone else). The Empire surely knows by now that if _anyone_ is going to spoil their party, you're gonna be in on it somehow." She shrugged again, glancing at Luke. "Could be just a code to cover efforts meant to keep you from training any apprentices."

Han turned in his chair at the dining table, "They should know we're not going to give them _you_."

Leia set down the datapad on the table, "But it's the size of bargaining chip the Empire would let the Frakkans go peacefully over."

Han cocked his chin and considered, "Maybe they realized what they were asking for and took it out of the proposal knowing they wouldn't get away with it."

Luke's steady stare never left Kess.

The woman tried to go about her business, but visibly felt the weight of Luke's eyes. He waited for the other conversation to die before speaking. "That could mean that your life is in danger," he warned, trying to get a feel for her reaction. Would she face it boldly, or would she panic?

Kess shrugged again and picked up a hollow cylinder. "I expected that sort of thing came with the Jedi territory." Carefully, confidently, she screwed a metal flange over the top of the brass-lined, cylinder chassis. "Besides," she held up the shell of a lightsaber hilt, "that's what these are for."

Luke blinked hard in recognition and leaned forward to grab the hilt from her hand. With its side panel still flopping unpinned, it was obviously unfinished. There was no crystal or other electronics yet to generate a blade. Still, Luke hadn't given her permission to build it. He hadn't even begun training her with his own lightsaber. He looked at her with part astonishment, part disappointment.

Kess understood the look on his face. "It's a dud," she clarified loudly and began to pick up the mess from her little project. "I wouldn't build a real one until you said so," she grumbled.

That made Luke feel a little better. He looked at the pile of parts left on the footrest and found a dummy load jutting from the smaller parts. It would be installed just after the generator, ready to suck out all the searing power from the blade before could form. He reminded himself that, to her, it was an engineering experiment, not a power play. Had she planned to build a real lightsaber, he would have been worried.

Luke gave her back the hilt and muttered coldly. "Don't finish the dud until I say so either."

Kess stood to throw away an armful of trash, but stopped with insult. "Why not?"

Luke kept his expression firm. "You're not ready for it." He noted something in her voice, something in the emotions that radiated from her on the Force. She was hoping for a different reaction from him and didn't get it.

"I just want to see if it works!" She argued loudly, "Besides, I know how to handle a sword whether it's one-handed or two-handed."

Luke slowly climbed out of the chair. The delicate balance of almost parental responsibilities wavered in his mind. How do you maintain discipline and still be a friend at the same time? He crossed his arms.

Now was not the time to be friends.

He squared his feet and looked at nothing in the air trying to think of the right response.

But she didn't give him the chance before hissing, "Sorry, _master_ ," and disappeared into her room.

 

 


	30. LL1 29 Force Print Lesson

** LL1       29        Force Print Lesson EXPANDED **

Warm rain fell in sheets, beating at the vegetation and turning the reddish sand to a dark burnt orange. The wetness of the rain made Kess want to take a shower outdoors rather than the dry hypo-shower in the suite. Her face winced with a smile as she, Chewie, and Artoo raced into the hotel to escape the pouring rain.

As soon as they were inside, Chewie shook his fur violently, sending droplets onto the walls, the floor, and her. She backed up with grinning groan. Chewie stopped when he was finished and strolled to the elevator hooting a Wookiee laugh at her.

They said hello to the political party and disappeared into their respective rooms. Kess peeled off the wet jumpsuit and proceeded immediately to the shower to clean and dry off. Standing at the sink for routine hygiene, she pulled her tooth-sonic from the medicine cabinet and closed her lips around its small ergonomic speaker. In a pitch well beyond human perception, the yellow-handled tool sent sound waves to crash against her teeth and dissolved the bacteria from the exposed enamel. With one hand, she held the tooth-sonic to her mouth and let it do its duty, and with the other, she reached for the small pale capsule of perfume.

Next to the copper capsule of the feminine scent rested a larger, navy blue capsule of masculine cologne. Grinning around the tooth-sonic, she took the cologne instead. She guiltily glanced back at the door to she wouldn't be caught and popped open the lid with her thumb. She closed her eyes and brought the capsule to her nose, drinking in the smell of Luke. After one long breath of it, she closed the lid, and put it away.

She only allowed her imagination run wild while he wasn't around. All through her after-shower routine, she looked through his side of the cabinet and simply got nosy with his stuff. An electric razor sat next to a blue-handled hairbrush. His tooth-sonic needed a new powercell. He had no medicines; not even standard issue painkillers. She tried to put back everything in its place and calmed the giddy emotion as she dressed in her room. By the time she emerged for dinner, she was temporarily sober of her crush.

Chewie let out a small belch when he pushed away his empty plate (his third serving) and howled a casual request to Han.

The smuggler grinned, "A game sounds good. Does Her Highnessness wanna play?"

Leia tiredly shook her head. "Nope. I'm going to bed."

Han jerked his head at Luke, "What about you guys? You can't very well play Jedi in the rain."

Luke picked up his glass. "We'll 'play Jedi' indoors. Sorry."

Within a few minutes, Leia bid a tired goodnight, the droids sat lightless in the sitting area, and the smugglers faced each other at the table with a deck of cards and a betting monitor.

By his apathetic invitation, Kess followed the Jedi Master into his room as he muttered something about not wanting the game to interfere with the lesson. She sat down cross-legged on the foot of the big bed and watched him pull the lightsaber off his belt to stand it upright on the desk. He turned the chair around, sat in it, and propped his feet on the bed next to her knee.

Her eyes drilled into the object on the desk. "When do I get to start practicing with a lightsaber?"

"Why?" It was his default response to nearly every question. He always wanted to know why she wanted to know.

Playfully, she slashed an imaginary sword at him, "I want to start fencing again."

He took the hilt off the desk and tossed it to her. "I thought fencing was getting boring."

Kess caught it, rolled it over in her hand, "It'll be different with these."

He nearly snorted at that. _You have no idea._

Her eyes peeked up with a giddy glee. "Can I turn it on?"

Luke paused, but nodded. The sound of its ignition seemed louder in the confines of his bedroom. He watched the woman look the blade up and down with interest and wave it around a little in the air, brown eyes reflected the bright green as she smiled up the humming blade with wonder.

He watched her… with his lightsaber.

Kess caught herself before getting too playful. She knew he still didn't feel she was ready for it and she turned it off before he took the chance to tell her to. She handed it politely back and remained silent as she waited for him to start the lesson of the day.

Over the past month, he told her quiet stories of Jedi legends and made her study the Jedi history and other literature he had on hand. Now she could at least hold up a conversation with him about it. He told her a little about his own training, about the Nightsisters and Jedi records he found on Dathomir, about Obi-Wan, about Master Yoda. His stories all had a Force-using lesson or some Jedi involvement in them. He passed on as many experiences as he knew about, even being honest about some of his own mistakes, but not one of the stories, Kess noticed, ever touched on anything truly personal.

He rarely talked of friends, and when he did, they were about the same choice few. Han, Leia, and Chewie were the most common. Others she knew of only by NewsNet reports, like Lando Calrissian and Wedge Antilles. Despite her questions, he wouldn't talk about Tatooine much. He wouldn't talk about his social life, his pre-training memories, or his family. He would barely answer her question, if at all, and shake his head claiming that it wasn't important.

Kess started a mental list of the things that were either 'not important', 'a long story', or an 'I'll tell you when you're ready'. The list was growing rapidly and Kess had a sick feeling in her stomach about all the stories the Jedi wasn't willing to tell.

Silence fell over her as she thought about it. Already expecting one of the three answers, she twirled her fingers into the dangling laces in her boots and asked, "When are you going to tell me about Darth Vader?"

Luke slid his hands behind his head and studied her. "What do you want to know?"

She inhaled sharply at the new response and exhaled to pick one of a hundred questions. "Did the NewsNet report about his death tell the whole truth?"

He didn't even blink. "No."

"What really happened? Why did Vader and Palpatine kill each other?" She looked at him eagerly.

Luke swallowed, "I'll tell you when you're ready."

She let out a frustrated huff and let her eyes fall back onto black laces.

But then he pulled his feet from the bed and rested his elbows on his knees. "No. Let me rephrase that... I'll tell you when _I'm_ ready."

The corner of her lip curled. "When _you're_ ready?"

Wise eyes met hers, "Do you like talking about the day your mom died?"

Her heart sank just at the reminder.

"I don't like talking about Vader and the Emperor in the same way. That's all."

Kess nodded with new respect.

Luke gestured in the air. "C'mon, cheer up. I will tell you the whole story from beginning to end by the time your training's over. When we get back to Yavin, we'll start with the lightsabers. You can go ahead and finish the one you started."

"I thought I wasn't ready for it?"

"Make it a dud and just don't turn it on," he said. "I'm no stranger to building electronic prototypes and know how difficult it is to stop in the middle and come back to it later. As long as you don't use it yet, I don't see any reason for you not to finish building it."

She gave him a thankful smile.

"Now," he twirled a finger in the air, "sense the room."

She obediently closed her eyes and straightened her back. Concentrating, she could feel the power of the conduits in the walls and the Force flow sluggishly through inanimate objects: the bed, the chair, the comm terminal. Her mind touched easily on every major object.

Luke concentrated so he could monitor her progress. "You missed something."

Kess started another round: the bed, pillows, blankets. She identified the 'Force print' of the chair, the desk, the comm terminal, the lightsaber in his hand...

With his eyes still closed, he grinned, "Why aren't you sensing _me_?"

Kess smiled wide without opening her eyes. "I am." She pointed at him with an index finger. "You're right there."

"There's more to a person than their location."

Her awareness shyly moved toward the chair and hovered outside his consciousness.

"It's not going to hurt," he assured, as though her fears were ludicrous. "See what you can see."

Carefully, she crawled clumsily into his cloud-like Force print and immediately felt the massive strength of his peace. She could smell him and feel him, like she had climbed inside his chest and was being held by him. She tried not to like it.

With his elbows still leaning on his knees, blue eyes opened to watch her expression. He'd never done this before, but it was the best way he could think of to get her started on sensing the complexity of people. He was the best guinea pig for it despite the unavoidable intimacy of the exercise. He tried not to like it.

"Now sense my emotions," he instructed.

She passed through the blur of rapid thought process and found the hazy clouds of emotions. Her mind's eye translated his feelings into a series of colors she could envision. A pastel rainbow streaked into swirls. On the surface was a thick layer of yellow-tinged peace. She concentrated where the yellow was darkest and recognized it as contentment.

His tone was a soft challenge, "Go as deep as you can." It was easier to tell how strong she was by the amateur prodding. She wasn't going to be any superhero, but she was stronger than he originally assessed.

Her awareness dipped into the yellow-white layer and saw in her mind's eye that the colors were richer underneath. She spoke softly as she traveled through the pale rainbow. "Green is anger." The green was about as white as his lightsaber blade. She quickly disregarded any fear of his 'third degree'. "Blue is hate," there was hardly any blue. "Purple is," she had to move her thoughts a little closer, "fear?"

"Mm-hm." He closed his eyes again to make sure she didn't travel any deeper than he wanted, although he wasn't sure what emotions he would have hid.

"Red." She saw the red had defined edges, like the cloud was encased in a bubble. She didn't recognize it because of the invisible barrier. "What's red?"

"Love," he said lightly. "Go on."

She paused, but moved on, "Orange is happiness. And yellow... um, boredom, maybe?"

"Now white and black."

She passed back up through the pale yellow of his contented peace. It might as well have been white. "White is peace, I guess. I don't see any black." Her consciousness retreated quickly and she opened her own eyes with a deep breath.

His eyes opened too. "Black is passion," he explained, "white is peace." His hands pretended to weigh the two in the air. "The dark side and the light side."

Her chin rose. "Ah ha! But then why isn't passion really dark red?"

He grinned, recognizing one of his own original questions, "Because love isn't the only thing you can feel passionately. Peace and passion, like black and white, are the two ends of the spectrum. The colors you see are just different flavors of that spectrum. And since emotions are invisible, your brain translates your Force senses to see emotions as colors. Somehow, it manages to translate it as the same colors to everyone that can sense it."

"Thus the universal term, dark and light Jedi."

"Exactly. Now," he narrowed his eyes at her. "My turn."

She leaned back a little, as if that would matter. "What?"

Luke expected reluctance, that's why he had her do it first. "I have to see what's in there," he pointed towards her torso. "When this training is over, your emotions have to look like mine, and I'll bet that right now they don't."

Kess squeaked meekly, "I'll even guarantee that for you so you don't need to look."

He disregarded her denial entirely. "Concentrate and watch. You'll see what you need to work on."

They both closed their eyes again. His Force awareness drifted confidently to her and she could almost physically feel his soul move through her chest bone. She inhaled and her posture shifted at the strange feeling. Her face contorting at the weirdness of this. She envisioned her emotions with him, recognizing immediately that Embarrassment throbbed in shades of merlot. Although she enjoyed a colorful scene, Kess knew immediately that what they found was bad.

A sheet of pinkish-purple settled on top of everything. It was the layer of newly practiced peace laced with a girlish crush on a superhero. Luke pretended not to see it and moved deeper.

All the darker clouds had defined lines like age-old experiences stomped down deep enough to be ignored. A soupy, seaweed-colored anger churned in one corner and faded into a chunky, denim-colored hate. Riding closer to the surface was magenta blending into boysenberry. A marmalade of playfulness blanketed it all to keep it contained. There was no yellow or white whatsoever. Like a tree root underneath all of it stalked an eggplant fear reaching into, and darkening, every other emotion she had.

Luke's Force awareness retreated as gently as he entered. He gave her a moment to recover before opening his eyes to look at her.

It was worse than he thought. He had no knowledge of what caused most of those emotions, but he did know that she would have to do something about every last one of them. "That fear is shadowing everything else," he said gently.

She opened her eyes just to have them dart away.

"What are you so afraid of?"

She shrugged, "Oh, the usual stuff."

Luke leaned back in his chair. "There is no 'usual stuff'."

Kess fell back on the bed with a huff, listing her string of 'usual stuff'. "The war, the training, this trip, the Empire, my dad, nightmares, death, taxes—

He felt that fear swell when she mentioned her father. "What are you afraid your father is going to do?"

Kess chuckled nervously, "He's gonna serve my flesh on a platter for Victory Dinner."

Luke secretly watched her fist clench. "Because of this training?"

She forced herself to sound casual, but fear threaded through her voice. "I'll be able to save myself the worry. I'll just never show my ugly head back on Tatooine and then he can't do anything to me, right?"

Luke hated having to say it. "The only way to pacify a fear is to face it."

She looked up like he was insane. "You're not gonna make me _tell_ him?"

"In due time," he assured. "That's way down the road. But if you fear your father, you will have to face your father, and all those other darker feelings, before you can graduate from this."

Her head dropped back on the bed, "Is that gonna be my final exam?"

He grinned secretly at the parallel. "We'll see."

She sat up with a face of new curiosity. "What was your final exam? What did you have to face?"

Luke swallowed without pulling his eyes from her. He said it quietly, "I had to face Darth Vader."

Kess bit her lip in horror trying to think of a comparable final exam for herself.

 

 


	31. LL1 30 Are Jedi Doomed to Celibacy?

** LL1       30        Are Jedi Doomed to Celibacy? **

Luke finished his shower, stepped to the sink and mulled over Kess' training as he moved through the routine. Wrapped in white terry cloth at his waist and leaning against the sink with a locked elbow, he pulled his tooth sonic from the cabinet and did a double take.

His eyes looked at the contents and then he winced with annoyance.

He shoved the tooth sonic in his mouth with one hand and put all his stuff back where it was supposed to be with the other. Eyes narrowed to see the reality behind it as he did so. It didn't matter where the stuff was sitting in the cabinet. What mattered was that she was bothering to mess with it in the first place. Was she just a slob or was she actually perusing his things? He picked up the cologne capsule and looked at it. He shook it. It was empty.

His eyes died with disbelief. He slapped the empty capsule back into the cabinet. _My apprentice has a crush on me_ , he thought with mild bafflement, _and it's getting worse._

He knew the best thing to do was to address it up front. He should yank out into the light, call her on deck about it military-style, shouting at her into never giving him a second glance. He thought of that on the trip here, but was reluctant to follow through because...

He slowly closed the cabinet, considering this.

Because...

He focused on his own face in the mirror and the corner of his mouth curled with the strange wonder.

Because he kind of liked it.

Luke's eyes fell closed and his head drooped slowly from his shoulders as if someone had just given him the worst of news, but his mouth smiled with embarrassment and incredulity about it.

 _Blast_.   

Seconds later, wearing only a pair of white pajama pants, he sat in the chair in his room with his elbows on his knees and rubbed the weariness from his face. He could hear noises of Threepio shutting down the power in the main room. Leia's voice muffled off to bed.

Luke scratched a new knot into the hair behind his ear and rubbed the back of his hand against his mouth to mutter. "Dammit, Obi-Wan, why did you have to pick _her_?"

He realized he had expectations about training apprentices. He expected a close friend out of it at best. He expected a teammate or a mission partner, at least for a while. And it didn't faze him that she was a woman, not at first. That didn't change anything.

Not at first.

It was that she was _acting_ like a "woman" that made it difficult, like the way she would blow up at the little things, like her pouting to try to get out of the morning run, like the way her brown eyes would light up like little stars at something he said—

Luke inhaled sharply and let the sigh out his nose. He pushed against his knees to get to a stand. He pulled a datapad off the desk and browsed through the desk drawers to find an empty datacard. He found one, grabbed a cipher stick, and fell onto the bed.

First, he put the card on his knee to write out a title. He chewed his tongue in thought and then said it with a grin as he wrote the first thing that came to mind. "What _not to do_ while training a Jedi Apprentice." It only took a moment of thought to start jotting notes about all the things that _weren't_ working.

* * *

A hanging lamp bathed the dining table in soft light. Those lamps made up most of the lighting in the restaurant, giving the place a dark, low-ceiling appearance. Bright silverware and crystal goblets tinkled like the soft singing of crickets. In the far corner, a pair of yellow-skinned humanoids played romantic music from a stringed instrument and a wooden flute.

Kess ordered a delicate sauté of vegetables. Having liked Artoo's choice of lunch a week before, she figured she would eat the local cuisine while she was still here. Her gold-trimmed plate was nearly clean when their talk of the good old days drifted into a hush. With a twinkle in his eyes, Solo leaned over to his wife's ear and asked her to dance.

Luke shifted uncomfortably after the two departed. He watched them go with jealous eyes, but a gentle smile snuck across his lips when they reached the dance floor and began to sway.

"You look envious," Kess teased.

Luke blinked and leaned over his dish for his glass. He shrugged, "I don't know what you mean."

Kess chuckled maturely. "C'mon, Luke. Don't lie to your own apprentice." She saw his eyes smile in bashful guilt. "Don't you have someone waiting for you on Yavin Base?" She grinned at him, "You know, the Knight with a mate on every system?"

He folded his arms on the table and pushed away his empty dish. "If that's why you're training, I'm afraid you're going to be gravely disappointed. The hero doesn't always get the girl." He chuckled to add, "In your case, the guy." His chuckle faded. He glanced out to Han and Leia and looked back at his glass, "The answer is no," he said soberly, "to both questions. I really don't have time for that sort of thing."

"But Councilors and Generals do?" Kess motioned to the lovebirds cuddling on the dance floor. She would have let it drop, but that last excuse was lame. She looked at him with a sarcastic grin. "I'm sure if you put your mind to it you could schedule somebody in."

Luke grinned politely but didn't respond. He hoped that if he stopped responding, she would drop the subject. Talk of personal relationships was never a comfortable subject for him, especially with such a lack of experience in them. Not many women interested him, and those that did, either didn't like him or were scared of him because he was a Jedi.

There was still hope, though. Maybe after this training was all over, and the training itself didn't make Kesselia dislike him as well—

Luke bit back his own thoughts. He'd cross that bridge when he got there. He sipped the sweet wine.

The silence that fell sent Kess in her own swirl of thoughts. She stared at the red wine in her glass for a moment, then peeped with curiosity, "You're allowed to. Aren't you?"

Luke licked his lips of the drink. "Allowed to what?"

She shifted and shrugged, "You know, _'see_ people'."

He raised his chin in thought, looking for the right words…

"I mean," Kess leaned in and lowered her voice as though it were a forbidden subject.

Luke looked curiously over, unsure what the forbidden subject was.

"All that stuff about no emotion and no passion," she asked shyly, "that doesn't mean you can't... _y'know_." She motioned with her hand, trying to get her point across politely.

Luke's eyes widened and he forced himself to blink. His lips parted with embarrassment. He figured the question would come up eventually, but not so soon. It was a subject he himself had not yet uncovered traditional practices. With the ability to peek into another's emotions, was there some unwritten set of rules for a Jedi's mating rituals? Were Jedi Knights doomed to celibacy?

Luke wondered before, but he didn't know. He found no records, no hints, and received no such advice from a glowing Obi-Wan Kenobi. Until now, Luke had no pressing circumstances that gave him the _need_ to know. With Jedi meditation tricks to calm animal instincts, and nobody around to catch his eye, the mystery hadn't yet floated to a priority.

Kess stared at her drink and began to pick apart the subject logically, obviously more comfortable talking about it than he was. "Don't take it personally. I'm only asking you because there is no one else to ask." She eyed the air with curiosity. "And if you _can_ , but you can't use passion, wouldn't it get boring? And if you _can_ use passion, wouldn't every Jedi in the neighborhood hear you?" She finally looked at him, "A lot of this just doesn't add up. Was there anything in the records?"

Her string of blatant questions left Luke in a stunned state of discomfort. He swallowed dryly and cleared his throat. "I haven't found anything… on that subject," he admitted. "But I... I've only been through about thirty percent… And I really wasn't looking for anything," he cleared his throat again, "of that nature." His eyes flicked about the objects on the table and rested on his wine glass. He picked it up and sucked in a shot full.

Kess watched his shyness and heckled quietly at him. She didn't lower her voice and didn't stop grinning, "Am I to understand that the _subject_ hasn't come _up_ since you started your own Jedi training?"

Luke's wine sputtered out of his mouth and he leaned over the table trying to get control of his flushing face and gasping lungs. In a rush of panic, he grabbed his napkin and blotted the wine from the tablecloth. He looked around nervously, checking for flashes of horror from other upscale diners that might have overheard. No one looked up. No one seemed to notice the conversation or his clumsy failure at proper dining etiquette, but that didn't make him feel any better.

Kess tried to hide a red-faced cackle with a curl of fingers over her nose. As soon as she calmed her breathing enough to speak, she snickered the words, "Three, three. Your serve again."

Luke folded his hands in front of his face. He blinked again, one long, slow, thoughtful blink, and set his jaw. His voice came out on the nervous side of a grin, "Do you have a pressing engagement that requires this information right away?"

"Pressing engagement?" She propped her elbow on the table and faced him boldly, "You're asking me if I have a boyfriend?"

He shrugged, "Boyfriend, suitor, mate; whichever term you prefer."

She eyed him with a knowing smile and shook her head. "No, I don't." Then she whined quietly as she could. " _But I don't plan on being single forever_."

Luke almost smiled, "Well, plan on it for now. I promise to fully brief you before—

When he saw her starting to smile again, he slammed his eyes shut and spoke quickly. "That's not what I meant."

Her voice dipped with comical insinuation. "Oh, that sounds like it's going be an interesting lesson." Kess started laughing at him and swallowed the last of her wine.

His palm patted the air but failed to find safe words to say.

With a teasing twinkle in her brown eyes, she leaned in and lowered her voice to nearly a whisper. "I hope you don't think I'm going come and grovel for your permission every time I plan to go romping."

Luke rubbed his forehead. "No! Please don't. Just… just don't do anything until we talk it over. That's all I'm saying." His own composure collapsed into a blushing chuckle.

The woman tittered and gave him a sultry, "Yes, _Master_."

Luke shook his head again and finally laughed into his glass of wine.

 

 

 


	32. LL1 31 Force Vision

** LL1       31        Force Vision **

Daitahn stood aside the usual activity on the bridge of the Imperial Star Destroyer _Tarkin_. His formal uniform was just a shade lighter gray than the Imperial officers on deck, causing him to nearly blend in. He didn't carry the heavy weight of blue and red insignia of an Imperial officer, but Daitahn felt a little safer about that.

A Lieutenant Commander approached. His young face was expressionless, having his emotions completely trained out of him. "The Admiral is ready to see you now."

Daitahn's lip twitched. Setting his shoulders back, he marched into the ready room and stood center in front of the desk. Knowing Admiral Cheenan would subconsciously respect him more for it, he carried a military air in his body language.

The Admiral leaned over the report on his desk and ordered out the guards with a single wave of his hand. When the door swished closed, Cheenan raised his gaze to stare down Daitahn. "According to this report, you have very weak leads in identifying the Usak."

Daitahn nodded, "Yes, sir. That is true."

"Why don't I believe you?" the Captain spat. "Where is Governor Levilot?"

Daitahn inhaled through his nostrils, "He is tending to a business arrangement. We maintain and honorable society of free enterprise in the Frakkan System, however, there are some disagreements that require governmental influence."

A frown passed across the Admiral's lips, then he flashed a new smile. "Well, what an opportunity to flex some Imperial muscle. You will take me to him and I will assist his efforts to solve the dilemma."

"With all due respect, Admiral." He paused as the man rose from his chair and confidently stepped forward. "The Empire has granted the regional Governors immediate control. Governor Levilot is fully prepared to bring the case to Imperial levels should the need arise. It is nothing that a man of your prominence need spend his precious time on such an insignificant quarrel."

Admiral Cheenan lowered his ton. "You will take me to Governor Levilot and I will decide for myself if the matter requires Imperial intervention."

* * *

Kess collapsed on the sand, heaving for fresh air in her lungs. The sand felt good because it was extremely fine and soft, much different from the gritty ground rock was at home with on Tatooine. Luke calmly sat down beside her, barely out of breath, and crossed his ankles pointing toward the foamy waves. He locked his elbows, setting his hands in the sand behind him and stretched the muscles in his neck. She looked up at him from her limp position and watched him gaze out at the ocean as he spoke.

"Apparently fencing hasn't given you enough exercise. You're going to need to be in shape to keep functioning properly, then you can enhance it with your Force skills."

"Is that the only reason?" She huffed, "Just so you have more to work with?"

Luke looked over at her. "No. Aerobics serves another purpose. It expends dark energies."

Kess snarled at the archaic term. "How does it do that?" Slowly she sat up, forcing her breathing to slow.

"Think about it?" he said lightly. "When you're angry at someone, what is the instinctive thing to do?"

"Beat them up."

Luke shrugged. "Okay, beat them up, beat something up, exert a lot of pent up, dark energy. Even if you don't take your frustrations out on what's really frustrating you, getting enough exercise to break a heavy sweat melts the frustration away. It enables you to think clearly."

Kess brought in her knees in a loose hug, still softly panting. "So, you go out on a run every time you're pissed off?"

He let a smile creep to his lips for a moment. "No, you just run every day so that, _every da_ y, you can start with a fresh attitude and clear mind." He looked out over the ocean. "You can run, or practice with a remote and lightsaber, or even dance. In the end, you will have spent your dark energies and can concentrate on peace."

She looked out at the ocean and took a long, deep sigh to catch her breath. "All I'm concentrating on is oxygen."

He almost laughed. "Meditate," he ordered easily as he watched the waves.

She rolled her head, "Awe man."

"Clear your mind," he repeated insistently. "There is no emotion, there is peace. Close your eyes and feel nothing."

Kess obliged, not sure if she could accomplish the task today. She couldn't think of nothing because she would still be thinking that she was thinking of nothing. But still, like a good, little apprentice, she thought about thinking of nothing. She breathed a smile, "Man, this is really hard to do."

Luke spoke quietly, as he always did when he ordered a meditation. "There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no death, there is the Force." His voice trailed off as the illogic of it began to matter less and less, and the absurd sounding words faded into an infinite wisdom.

Her mind went slowly, completely blank. Then, as if her closed eyes had peeled open, a foggy view of a bright, sunlit scene appeared in her mind, like a dream. She heard nothing. She saw a pale, rusty background and the fuzzy features of Luke's face with his eyes closed, his mouth pressed against hers...

Kess gasped and her real eyelids flung open.

Luke had never felt the pinprick black hole in the Force from this angle, but he was familiar with what it meant.

"What was that?" She squeaked.

Half his mouth grinned, "I think you just had a vision."

Her eyes flashed to him. Seeing his knowing grin (sitting a metre away) she realized he had nothing to do with the vision except to simply know that she had one.

He explained the concept. "The Force can show you the past or a possible future, depending on what you need to see."

She quickly pulled herself to her feet and brushed the sand from her pants. "I'm not sure I like this ability." She chuckled uncomfortably at the ground. "It spoils the surprise."

Luke wasn't concerned. He stood up and faced her, blocking her inherent path back to the courtyard. He grinned, knowing her fear better than she realized. "What did you see?"

"Nothing important." She inserted quickly. "My mind's playing tricks on me. I don't think it was any vision."

Luke crossed is arms at his chest. "What did you see?"

When he asked questions, he demanded answers. Kess lately disregarded most attempts to avoid to answering. But this was different. This was _very_ different. What would he think? What would he do?

"It's okay," he assured, almost grinning to relieve her fears.

She shifted her weight as her eyes darted about. With a rush of borrowed confidence, she raised her chin, "I saw somebody kissing me."

Luke raised an eyebrow and his grin faded. It was obviously not what he expected, and apparently not something he really liked. With a face struck more with concern than curiosity, he asked, "Who?"

Kess met his gaze, trying to tell whether he really cared and therefore if she should really tell him. She couldn't tell, but that didn't matter because she couldn't lie anyway. She watched his face for his reaction and said it flatly, "It was you."

Luke took one rocking step backward with widened eyes, but his expression softened again. 'Always in motion is the future,' Master Yoda had said. He decided not to mention that vague statement now. Luke quickly backpedaled (which wasn't fair because he never 'pedaled forward' in the first place.) "Those visions can show a future of many facets." He turned away, using his best teacher tone. "And the futures you will see are but one path, and not set in stone."

Kess watched him. He was uncomfortable at dinner. He was quickly turning away now. Something in her instincts told her that the teacher was reminding himself he _was_ a teacher. She began to feel like a predator at the Mash Pit, encouraged by Kayla and other crooning girlfriends. She smirked coyly, "Does that mean you're not going to kiss me?"

Her flirtatious voice sang through the morning breeze. With a difficult sigh, Luke put his hands in his pockets and lifted his shoulders as he turned to her. Forcing his face to a blank expression, he faced her squarely. "I wasn't planning on it."

Kess tilted her head aside trying to maintain the carefree grin, and then turned her head entirely, trying to hide the disappointment and the embarrassment that washed across her face. Such a question was unlike her, and now she regretted it. She had to stop hanging out with Kayla so much.

Luke spread his hands, stressing the words. "You're my _apprentice!_ I couldn't even if I wanted to!"

Her eyes flicked back to his, " _Shouldn't_."

Luke nodded politely and shrugged, "Okay, _shouldn't_ even if I wanted to." He looked at her almost sympathetically. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, or insult her, or lead her on, but he knew exactly what was going on in her mind and tried to figure out a way just to make it _stop_.

Kess searched his expression for the truth. She knew she hit a chord, but was bedazzled precisely what chord it might have been. Borrowing Kayla's confidence again, she gave him an open mouth smile with a twinkle in her brown eyes that would shame a Corellian prostitute. "Do you want to?"

Luke couldn't help his embarrassed grin. He closed his eyes and broke the stare before he really _did_ kiss her. Staring out at the ocean, still trying to wipe the smirk from his face, he finally laid down the law. "I'm not going to answer that. I am your Master. You are my Apprentice. And we are not going to finish this conversation until your training is _over_."

Folding her arms at her chest, she asked warily, "How long is this training going to take?"

Luke drew up a short breath. His formal training took only weeks, but he had self-studied new and important details for years after that. Even now, he found new and creative ways to use the Force to his advantage. Namely, learning the true feelings from a particular girl—

Luke let out a quick sigh, cursing his mind for wandering off. Depending on how fast she learned, her training could take months, even years, but he was afraid to tell her the uncertain truth about the timeframe. "Until you're done," he said icily at the sand beneath his feet.

Turning his back to her, he began the long stroll back to the hotel. He let out another sigh as heard her slowly catch up to walk beside him.

Her flirtations melted into the sand at her feet, her confidence skewed towards sarcasm, "I didn't mean to insult you, _Master_."

Luke recognized the negative effects already in her voice. Precisely the anomaly he tried to avoid by ordering the subject dropped. He stopped abruptly in his tracks and looked her directly in the eye, his impatience welling up in his own tone. " _Don't guess_ what you _don't know_. You didn't insult me and I'm not disappointed. I just want you to _drop the subject_. The last thing the Alliance needs is their only two Jedi fighting like Han and Leia."

Kess raised an eyebrow at him; slightly disturbed by the outburst, but more curious at his analogy. "Why not just tell me?"

Luke caught himself and briefly closed his eyes. "What I want has nothing to do with how drastic the outcome could get. Either answer could spin your emotions into an uproar. You're my first Apprentice and I don't want to risk the hassle. So you're just going to have to stay in suspense until you finish your training." He grinned at the irony. "A Jedi craves enlightenment and knowledge. I guess enlightenment will be your reward to graduating."

Kess laughed in disbelief and dug her on hands in the pockets of her baggy clothes. She turned to the hotel and resumed the stroll, shaking her head to clear the hurricane of emotion. "I was right," she said without looking at him. "You _are_ crazy."

Luke's stretched a wry smile across his mouth but he didn't look at her, "And you, my dear, soon-to-be Jedi Lendra, are going to believe that until you finally start practicing all that I've been trying to teach you."


	33. LL1 32 No Security Check

** LL1       32        No Security Check **

Finely dressed bodies poured from the conference room for a long needed break. It had been a productive day, but a tedious one. The Frakkan government and the New Alliance government finally came to an agreement on the rights of free enterprise in conjunction with the standing rights of free enterprise already in full activation within New Alliance borders. After a month full of negotiations, it was the last issue between them to settle the post severance treaty.

In the clean, carpeted hallway, Han stretched his back. He'd been sitting in that same chair for weeks, mulling over details that did not interest him whatsoever. The pale uniforms of the Frakkan negotiating team quickly left the room and moved down the hall to the Governor's temporary private office, as usual.

Hurriedly, Leia followed them, but passed the Frakkan crowd when they paused to open the door. She continued to the room where she could send Chief Commander Mothma a report of good news from a comm desk on the Governor's supposedly secure channel.

Luke rubbed his eyes and strolled in the opposite direction. Han followed him to the private office given to them for breaks and secluded conversation. The door hissed shut behind him at his command and, ignoring Luke, flopped back into a stiff, futon chair.

Thoughtfully, Luke continued his stroll to the giant window. He looked over the jutting buildings of the city without looking at them, without looking at anything. He shoved his fists into his front pockets and sighed stiffly through his nose.

Han raised his head to look at Luke's back, then leaned forward in the chair, propping his elbow on his knees. "What's the matter, kid?" He smiled, realizing that it was probably a stupid question. "That Lieutenant giving you a run for the money?"

Somewhere within Luke's faraway stare, he nodded. "Something like that." He stood silent for a few seconds more and yanked his eyes from the window. "It's getting to the point where I've started a new set of notes: 'What _not to do_ while training a Jedi Apprentice.'"

Han grinned, "Couldn't you reword that? 'What not to do while training a _female_ Jedi Apprentice'?"

Luke turned to him like he was ready to vent complaints to someone who might understand, a very non-Luke kind of thing to do. "You know what she asked me last week at dinner?" His voice was still hiked high with disbelief about it. "She asked me if the Jedi are allowed to have sex!"

Han threw his head back with laughter. Kess asking about it was not surprising. It was Luke's reaction that was so funny. Han stood and approached him with smiling eyes, "Well, _are you_?"

Luke scolded Han with a single look, but didn't answer the question.

Han crossed his arms, fighting the snigger in his nose. "What did you tell her?"

Slightly embarrassed, even with Han, he turned back to the window. "I told her I haven't done much research in that area."

The smuggler leaned against the window with laughing eyes. "You liar. You haven't done _any_ 'research' in that area."

Luke shrugged in silent admittance. "I'll see what I can find in the records and cover it later."

Han's voice lowered evilly, "And how well will you _cover_ it?"

Luke gave him another perturbed look.

"C'mon, Luke. She's a good-looking woman, your age, from your home planet! She fixes the ships _you_ fly and was hand-picked for this mission? _I_ certainly didn't ask for her, Leia never heard of her, and I doubt Admiral Drayson keeps tabs on dozens of Deck Supervisors that _aren't_ in his command. And suddenly this girl is the first Apprentice of the famous Jedi Knight? Now look me in the eye and tell me honestly this was all just a big coincidence."

Luke glared at him, "Purely!"

Han folded his arms at his chest and stared down his nose at Luke, obviously not believing the kid's innocence. "You're allowed to be human, y'know."

Luke huffed and combed his hair with his fingers. "I knew about her before the trip. That is true. Obi-Wan pointed her out and I've been keeping an eye on her for about a year. But I didn't meet her until a week before we left." He shook his head, wondering why he was defending his Jedi decisions against a man who, not so long ago, called it 'a bunch of weird tricks and nonsense'. He spoke quietly, not really caring anymore if Han believed him or not. "This training is purely platonic, Han."

"I know that." Han turned away and went back to the chair. "I'm just saying that it doesn't _have_ to be."

He watched the kid stare out the window again and knew by the look on his face that discipline and humanity were fighting it out in the back of that blond head. It had been eight years since he picked up the farmboy and his hermit from the Mos Eisley Cantina, but Luke seemed to have aged twice that just by the weighted look on his shoulders.

 _So what do you think of her, Han_?

The twinkle in Luke's young eyes said it all that day. They were running with their tail between their legs from the Death Star with stolen plans and the Imperials on their tail, and all this kid could think about was the girl.

_I'm tryin' not to, kid._




Over the span of those eight years, Luke never hinted any animosity at Han for pursuing Leia and winning, regardless that they were siblings. Leia's marital fate was decided before that fact was known. Luke remained quiet; watched them fall in love; watched them fight. He was there when Han proposed. He was the best man at their wedding. The only thing he said that whole time, the only request (or maybe it was a warning) was, "Don't let her down."

Luke politely stepped aside and stood alone for eight years, and Han couldn't help but feel a little guilty about it.

The door hissed open and Leia walked in, her shoulders tense under the white fabric of her dress. Concern creased her face as her eyes found Luke's back. Both men turned to her and instantly knew something was wrong.

Han leaned forward in his chair. "What's the matter?"

She didn't look at her husband. Instead, she stepped carefully to Luke. "I just spoke with Admiral Drayson," she said it in nearly a whisper.

Luke's face hardened.

"The Lieutenant never went through a security check. They can't figure out who put her name on the mission docket."

Luke looked back out the window with a clenched jaw.

Han stood and hooked his thumbs in the back belt loops of his dress pants. "Did they check her service record?"

Leia nodded at the floor, "Scanned over it. There's nothing obvious. Drayson is initiating a security check now. He said he'll look deeper into her record personally, both civilian and military, and launch an investigation on who gave her the order to come with us." She glanced at Luke's back again. "A deck supervisor would not have access to initiate that order on her own," she assured quietly.

Luke's spoke in a low, stiff voice. "Kess wouldn't have even if she could."

Han stepped back with a long blink. He was surprised that the two so quickly defended the nearly insubordinate Lieutenant and states the obvious. "What if she's not just a deck supervisor? What if she's in cahoots with Shuley and Levilot? What if she'd been trying to get into my critical systems just so she could bring them down?" He pointed roughly to his side, "That woman barely follows my orders, oh, but she certainly has succeeded in getting on your good side, _Master_ Luke!"

Luke spun around to faced his brother-in-law. "A few minutes ago, you were trying to talk me into sleeping with her, and now you're convinced she's a spy?"

Leia raised an eyebrow at Han.

Han shrugged sheepishly. "That's _different_."

Luke stepped forward and raised his voice, "If you would let her do her job every once in a blue moon, maybe she wouldn't get so close to insubordination. It would certainly make my training her a hell of a lot easier. You've been after her dots since the minute we hit hyperspace!"

Han voice was just a touch calmer than Luke's, but stood his ground in the same forward attack position, "And a few minutes ago you were swearing a 'purely platonic' training and now you're defending her, without proof, like some protective mate. The series of events and the collection of evidence do _not_ clear her name!"

"Gentlemen," Leia said, but they ignored her.

Luke's voice lowered to a stiff control. "She is _not_ an Imperial."

Han's voice hiked with disbelief at the kid. "I'm not convinced!"

Leia put her hands on the stiff forearms in front of her, one hand each, and used the soft but cutting voice that she so often used in her job. "We won't know anything until the security check comes through and we are not going to say or do anything until we know. It should be complete by the time we return to Yavin. We've settled all post severance issues so it shouldn't be long to decide how we're going release the Frakkans from the Empire. And then we can go home to sort all this out."

"Great," Han muttered sarcastically, pulling away from the stare down with Luke. "Now all we have to do is argue with them about this Usak thingamabob."

He stepped tiredly away and turned his back to them both. He wanted to go home, have a candlelit dinner with Leia, maybe take Luke out to the local pub and coax him into acting like a mortal male for once. _Training or no training, the kid needed a good f-_

"The Empire will flourish, if given the powers we lack." Luke voice oozed. The anger was gone for the tense clicking of pieces falling together. "Given the powers of more Sith?"

Leia raised wide eyes to him and responded with the same tone. "They want your apprentices before the training is finished so they can turn them to the dark side."

"-turn them to the dark side." Han said it with her as the pieces began clicking for him as well. He swiveled on his heels. "Now _that_ is something they would sacrifice an entire system for."

Luke gave Leia almost an evil glare in return. "But Kess doesn't _know_." He almost pleaded it as though he were hoping someone in the room could verify that Kess had nothing to do with it.

Leia touched his arm again. "We aren't going to do anything until we get more information, all right? I'll bring it up in our afternoon session. Levilot has got to tell us what it is if he wants us to hand it over. And if it is her, then—

Luke dropped his cold eyes to meet Leia's, "We are not trading my apprentice for a propulsion industry."

 

 


	34. LL1 33 A Pretty Vader

** LL1 33 A Pretty Vader **

"Who exactly is the Usak?" Leia asked across the table. Wording the question that way admitted to the Frakkans that the New Alliance had already figured out that the Usak was, in fact, a person.

Governor Levilot stiffened but kept his gaze from flinching. "We're not sure. Only Supreme Prophet Kadaan can positively identify this Usak he wants. He is the one who prophesied it."

Han leaned forward in his chair, "If you can't figure out who it is, then how do you expect to trade the right person for your freedom?"

Levilot's eyes flicked to Luke, and seeing the Jedi still coldly staring at him from directly across the table, lowered his gaze to the datapad in his hand. "We have clues, a description. We've found a possible lead—

" _Who_?" Leia's voice was more insistent.

Levilot's eyes moved to meet each of the Alliance diplomats in turn. Finally, with a polite smile, he leaned back in his chair. "My friends, it has been a long and productive day. We have submitted our request for the severance issues, the Usak among them, but before we proceed, I'd like your permission to close for the day so that your team and ours can review the new proposals." He paused as the trio across the table slumped at his request.

"I'd— Levilot stopped himself, leaned forward, and let the diplomatic air fall from his mannerisms. "I'd like to review my notes on the Usak before I give you my suspicions. I know little about Kadaan's request myself and, to be honest, I don't really care if Kadaan gets her or not."

 _'Her,'_ Luke recited in his mind. _It is her._

"An Usak is a product of _Frakkan_ beliefs. His prophecy of a new Usak is complete heresy, but it's the one way I can sever my system from the Empire with the least amount of bloodshed. _Of course,_ I'm interested in exploring that option."

Leia rubbed her forehead. Luke stared at Levilot. Han leaned back in the uncomfortable chair and draped his elbow across its arm with a tired sigh.

"I beg of you, let me review my notes before we address this issue. Jedi Skywalker," he held up a hand to Luke, "you would know if I had other intentions."

Luke paused a moment, even though he'd been checking for deception all along, nodded to verify to Leia and Han that the Governor was, in fact, telling the truth.

Leia nodded in return. "We will close for the day at your request, Governor. We will review the proposal and meet again in the morning. However, I would like to see all the information you have about the Usak and its characteristics."

Levilot bowed his head penitently. "I'll have them collected for you by morning."

Leia gave him a perfect smile. "With all due respect, it seems this mystery person may be the remaining link between our governments. I would appreciate seeing that information by dinner."

Levilot stood and smiled tightly, "Of course, Councilor."

* * *

The video of the treaty room showed the New Alliance trio filing out to the hall again. A single finger pushed the button that made the screen go blank. Admiral Cheenan sat comfortably in the Governor's office chair immediately down the hall from the meeting room. He ignored Vice Governor Daitahn sitting silently on the other side of the desk. They and two stormtroopers were all that occupied the office until the door swished open.

Governor Levilot found the Imperial sitting in his chair and instantly knew he was in trouble. He approached the desk without moving his stare from Admiral and stood quietly until Shuley and the other aides stepped in and closed the door.

Admiral Cheenan looked at the man as though he were scolding a teenager. "It seems, my dear Governor, that you have uncovered a most promising lead to the Usak."

"We don't know—

"That is not for you to decide!" The Admiral shouted. "You were ordered to report all possible leads, not negotiate a treaty until you confirmed one."

Levilot remained silent and looked at him humbly. In his mind, however, he simply waited for the Admiral to spend his temper tantrum.

The Admiral stood and his eyes flooded with anger. "I should have this entire city leveled! This is intolerable. His Excellency would blow this precious planet of yours to ion dust if he were still alive." His teeth seethed with saliva and the hate spewed from his mouth. "Your lack of loyalty is a disgrace."

Levilot would not back down, not for the Emperor and not for any one of a hundred of his Force-using pupils. His voice was carefully calm. "You forgiveness, Admiral. My station as a Governor is to rule and protect the people of my system. I was exploring the possibilities to find a plan with the least amount of bloodshed—

"To sever from the Empire," Cheenan hissed with disgust.

Levilot gestured with sincerity. "Supreme Prophet Kadaan himself had offered it in return for his Usak. In that light, my actions should have been expected, if not pardonable altogether."

Cheenan lowered back into the chair. His lips drew into a thin line.

"My actions, in turn, have brought the possible Usak to this system. If you will allow me to continue, I will sacrifice the Usak to you in return for a peaceful severance. It is only a matter of time—

"You do not have the luxury of time, Governor. Where is he?"

Levilot clasped his hands behind his back and felt the tense presence of a half a dozen diplomats and stormtroopers in the room, all holding their breath. "He is a _she_ ," Levilot admitted.

Cheenan's eyebrow rose, "A _woman_ will single-handedly bring down the Empire?"

The human male supremacy of the Imperial government was no secret. Even so, Shuley crossed her arms as if Cheenan had slapped her across the face. She remained silent but her attitude was clear. It was because of the Imperial bigotry that it took her so long to take the office of Ambassador and she had simply had enough of the Admiral that fought her recent promotion.

Levilot would console Shuley later. Right now, he needed the Admiral on his side. "The woman will inevitably bear more Jedi children and strengthen Skywalker's position as a Master."

Cheenan's face hardened in worried confusion, "Skywalker is not a Jedi Master."

"Skywalker apparently has taken the woman on as his apprentice. Which is why we believe she is the Usak you are looking for."

Admiral Cheenan launched to his feet. "You fool! We need to take her before it's too late! Once she attains Jediship we are helpless. This training must not be allowed to continue!"

Levilot held up a hand to assure, "She won't leave the planet, Admiral."

"You idiot!" Cheenan hissed. "How long has this training gone on?"

"We don't know—

"I don't care about your treaty negotiations. I want the Usak removed from Skywalker's influence at once. I saw the look on his face. He already knows who it is and they don't plan on releasing her. _He already knows!_ "

Levilot finally, tiredly, sat down in the guest chair. What Cheenan was saying was true, he was sure. Skywalker's cold stare across the table sent chills up his spine. "If you will permit me, Admiral, I would prefer Frakkan resources to perform the task at hand, in light of the lives at stake."

Admiral Cheenan paused. His voice was cold and quiet, "Fine. But if the Usak is not in my possession this time tomorrow, I will have my forces pluck her from this planet, and I don't care who or how many I kill in the process."

* * *

Luke hardly spoke during the short trip back from treaty negotiations. Leia and Han watched him with sympathy, knowing how much the news weighed on his mind. They wished that he would speak, or yell, or joke, or vent, or anything. But he walked silently to the speeder, sat staring out the window, and bowed his head in deep thought as he stood in the elevator. Suspicions bounced roughly through his mind, and then known facts promptly bounced them back. He shook head and sighed deeply every few minutes.

Leia wasn't too worried; she just wished there was something she could do to make him feel better. It wasn't the first time they had gotten only half the information about an issue that hit awfully close to home, but she knew that Luke had grown attached to Kess and the hope of a fellow Jedi.

The elevator door opened to the suite almost glowing with the brightness of midday. She went straight to the sitting area and plopped down on the orchid couch. Han followed her, lay down on his back to rest his head in her lap, and pretended not to notice the thick tension. Leia watched her brother as Luke shuffled by the dining table, staring at the ocean, and started pulling away the buttons on his tunic.

"Why _her_?" Luke blurted, not turning to them.

Han opened his eyes and glanced at him, "Don't get so offended, Luke."

"No." Luke shook his head and tossed the tunic across the iron railing of the sitting area. "Not 'Why does this always have to happen to me?' What in the name of the Force would the Imperials want with her?"

"She's your apprentice," Leia offered. She combed her fingers into the hair at Han's temple. Her husband closed his eyes to enjoy the attention, both of them feeling a little better now that Luke was at least talking about it.

"I'll train others," Luke breathed, sitting down at the table still cluttered with datapads from the review over breakfast. "Why not just kill me instead? Then I couldn't train anybody?"

Han grinned without moving, "They already tried that."

Luke leaned his elbows in on the table with an admitting nod and fiddled with a datacard in front of him.

Han asked aloud, "Are you sure it's a Jedi-thing?"

Leia let her head fall on the back of the couch, "One document said that it's a Sith prophecy, another spoke of different dimensions... It sounds like a Jedi thing to me."

Luke quoted, "'The Empire will flourish, if given the powers we lack'... If it _is_ her, Kadaan wants to turn her to the dark side."

A silence fell over them. Without realizing it, all three minds remembered the black cape and helmet of a man who turned to the dark side. His deep, synthesized voice and his electronic breathing echoed in all three memories at once.

Han tried to imagine little Kess in the same outfit and toting the same red blade. "She'd be an awfully short Darth Vader."

Leia cracked a smile. Luke chuckled from the table. It was the first time any of the trio joked about the man that had inflicted so much pain, and the joke was only bittersweet at best.

After a moment of silence, Luke's spoke with a faraway voice, "But she'd be a pretty one."

Han and Leia both looked over.

Luke rested his head in his hand and stared out the window with a day-dreamy grin.

"Did it occur to you," Han griped loudly, nearly sitting up, "that they just might be afraid she'll bear a bunch of your Jedi babies?"

Luke's smiling eyes went to Han. "I hate to break the news to you, _Dad_. Leia's just as capable of bearing Force strong children as Kess. So why isn't she the Usak?"

He saw Han look up to his wife and knew that the exchange of expressions about to take place was none of his business.

Luke let eyes drift across the table. He knew better than to ask the question out loud so he thought it all with ripe pessimism instead. _What makes you think she's going to bear **my** kids anyway?_

_Besides, she's probably my **other** sister... or my aunt, my niece, my cousin..._

Leia spoke evenly, "Either she is the Usak, and she knows it, and she came to try and keep the treaty from happening to save her life. Or she is the Usak, and she _doesn't_ know it, and we have another spy to fish out of Yavin Base. Or she's _not_ the Usak, and they want my bracelet or something—

"No. It's her. I know it." Luke muttered. "My lucky streak with women would be shattered if she weren't." Abruptly, he stood and walked towards the elevator.

Han stretched his neck to see Luke requesting a car. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go teach my apprentice how to move things." He stepped into the open doors and faced them. "Like locks on cell doors, or a blaster that's out of reach, or the pepper when everyone is too busy eating to pass—

The doors closed in front of his face and the faint click sounded as the car released to carry him down.

As soon as they were alone, Leia whacked Han on the shoulder. "You were supposed to pretend not to notice!"

His hand shot out to the table. "How can you not notice? A 'pretty Vader'? Gimme a break!"

 


	35. LL1 34 Force Telekinesis

** LL1       34        Force Telekinesis **

Luke heard her voice singing before he saw her. She lay on the deck of the cockpit with her lower body jutting out of an open panel. Luke could barely make out the words, "Sitting on a speckled log, eating the most delicious bugs. Yum. Yum." He grinned as he approached and rapped hard on the metal bulkhead with his knuckles.

"Argh!" Her head dipped out to look at him. "That's kinda loud in here." She was only half-annoyed because she knew he did it on purpose. It was her punishment for not paying attention to the Force enough to notice that someone was approaching. She slid out and stood, wiping her filthy hands with an equally filthy rag. She noticed immediately that he'd shed the tunic of his uniform and loosened the top two buttons on his black shirt. Then she noticed the time. "Lunch break?"

Luke leaned his shoulder against the jam and shook his head. "We quit early. So _we_ start early. Are you at a stopping place?"

Kess nodded. She was always at a stopping point when Luke showed up. She wondered if he ever noticed.

He turned away to go find Chewie, "Get cleaned up."

Chewie and Han had slowly loosened their grip about the kind of repairs she did. So slowly, in fact, that Kess hardly noticed the way her orders advanced in difficulty and importance. Comparing the then and now: her first assignment was to clean the showerhead. Now, a month later, Chewie gave her the fuse box to repair and rewire. Not one repair touched upon the list she was supposed to be doing, but she would get there in about a standard year at this rate.

It took only a few minutes for her to peel the coveralls from her hidden civvies, change into lighter shoes, and wash her hands clean of the grease. Working on a fuse box had not gotten her all that dirty, so she didn't mind training without showering first. Trotting happily down the ramp, she ripped the braids from their ties and proceeded to unravel her hair as she walked with Luke out of the docking bay. He watched her scrub her scalp with unpainted fingernails, shaking up the full head of hair and letting sand-colored locks fall down the back of that skin-tinted blouse.

During several minutes of walking silently to the beach, Kess thought about the possibility of talking Luke into _not_ training, just for one day. She hungered to see the man relax a little, or maybe talk about something that didn't have to do with the Force. She slid her fingers into the front pockets of her pants and grinned at him. "Have you guys ever heard of some people getting a day off? It's Benduday on Yavin Base right now."

Luke responded like he really didn't care, "Is it? I hardly notice it's Benduday when I'm on Yavin." His boots sank into the sand as he stepped off the curb and onto the scarcely populated beach. The sunlight of midday sparkled on thousands of waves on the blue-purple ocean. He drank in the cool sea air.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" she complained lightly. "We've been working non-stop for two months and nobody seems to have noticed but me."

Luke stopped in his tracks, clasped his hands in front of him, and looked down to her with a crisp. "You wanna day off?"

She passed a few steps and turned to him. "That would be nice." _What would really be nice is to spend the whole afternoon with you without having to train._ 

"Fine." He shrugged quickly. "See you tomorrow." He did an about-face and started walking back towards the hotel. He was already grinning at himself when she stopped him.

"Wait!" Kess hopped with mild panic.

He stopped politely and slowly turned, "Yes?"

"Tomorrow," she said shyly.

Luke grinned, but shrugged again, "Okay, you can have tomorrow off." He turned to the ocean and strolled out towards the waterline. Blue gulls flew over them, cawing at each other. "What are you going to do on your day off?"

"I don't know." She walked next to him, turning as they reached the wet sand and strolled in front of crashing waves. "What are you going to do?"

"Try to figure out this treaty," he said distantly.

"That's not really a day off, y'know."

Luke realized that and shrugged, grinning.

"Did they ever ask for that Usak thingy?"

Luke glanced at her, "Yeah, but they never said what it was." He forced himself to look away. "Did you put any more thought into it?"

She looked at him quizzically, "You already figured it out, didn't you?"

He grinned over, "Very good." She had kept her mind open and sensed the deceit from his half-truth. He let his gaze drift down the beach. "We have an educated guess. That's all."

She hopped along waterline beside him, pulling her lips in for an exaggerated, "Hm..." She bounced on her toes, her path slightly zigzagging, and cocked her head aside, "Is it bigger than a bread box?"

Luke retorted, "That depends on how big the bread is."

She giggled at him, taking the comment as his polite way of avoiding the subject. He probably couldn't tell her the treaty details, and Kess wouldn't push a subject he couldn't discuss. She felt uncomfortable about it anyway. There was so much he wasn't willing to tell her, but she didn't want him to feel her discomfort about it, so she distracted her own emotions onto something else.

She stopped in her tracks and gave in to the urge of a burst of energy. She bolted for several metres, pounded her feet into the damp sand, and jumped. She flipped hand over feet in one full revolution and landed hard on the ground, sticking her hands out to catch her balance. The moment she realized she wasn't going to fall over in a heap, she arched her back and shot her arms into the air with victory.

Luke smiled at her back as he watched the simple gymnastic feat from his casual stroll. She was prone to bursts of happy energy; be it a cartwheel, a silly joke, or flirting with him regardless of his requests to the contrary. Every day, he tried to bring her head out of childish clouds and make her realize how serious being a Jedi Knight was, but it was becoming more and more difficult to scold her for a quick burst of play.

She turned to walk backwards, two metres directly in front of his stroll. "Let's go for a swim."

"Do you know how to swim?" He didn't want to _imagine_ what she planned for them to clothe in for an impromptu dip in the ocean.

She slowed her walk to let him catch up. Brown eyes twinkled. "No, but you wouldn't let me drown, would you?"

"I guess you won't find that out until you start drowning." He was smiling again and that was only fueling the fire, but smiling wasn't on the dark side, right? He thought again about seriously talking to her about all this flirting, but he just wasn't in the mood for it today.

"Awe, c'mon." She turned around and walked beside him again. "The knight in shining armor not save a drowning damsel in distress? Isn't that part of your job description?"

He watched down the beach, "You are a Jedi Apprentice, not a damsel in distress."

 _And you are the Usak._   

He touched on the Force enough to sense her disposition. An undertone of light flirting was the only deceit in her emotions. Kess was excited about starting training so early in the day and anxious to get started with the first lesson. She was oblivious of the treaty issue that so closely affected her. Whatever was going on, she was completely innocent of it.

"And you spoil all the fun," she pretended to complain.

"This isn't supposed to be fun," Luke insisted, but he couldn't wipe the grin from his face.

"I know that." She hopped along the beach in front of him and did a quick cartwheel. "But it is anyway." Her brown eyes twinkled at him again for a moment. She turned her back to bounce ahead of him along the beach.

He watched her back and shook his head. _Not for all the propulsion industry in the quadrant—_

Luke stopped in his tracks and closed his eyes with self-scolding. A quick meditation beat back his wandering thoughts. Deciding to get into the lesson before they wandered off again, he put his thoughts to a mugrat burrowed a dozen centimetres under the sand and began to lift it out.

Kess stopped when she noticed she'd lost him. She turned to find him with his eyes closed and one hand hovering over the ground in front of him. A small spot of sand churned like a tiny geyser pushed from underneath and, slowly, a single blob of sand rose from the ground and hovered in the air. The clump wriggled until the sand sprinkled off a slick-furred creature. It lowered gently to the ground and scurried away as soon as Luke released his invisible grip.

He slid his hand back into his pocket and closed the metre between them. Kess watched the animal run towards the dunes and dive headlong into the sand.

"Force Telekinesis," he watched his feet and continue to stroll. "It's part of the Alter category."

She squinted at him and turned to follow. "Don't I have to know Clairvoyance first?"

"You already know Clairvoyance." He strolled right by her. "Instead of knocking on the bathroom door like most people, you've been trying to sense me instead."

She bit her lip and guiltily followed.

Luke jerked his shoulder for her to keep up, "C'mon. Let's move stuff."

 

 


	36. LL1 35 Vision Comes True

** LL1       35        Vision Comes True **

Kess picked up the concept quickly. She started out by flattening the ripples of sand in a circle a half a metre in diameter, one tiny hill at a time. Luke sat on the slope of a large dune and watched her, instructed her, and occasionally demonstrated. After mastering the art of moving sand, he put his lightsaber on the ground in front of her and had her move that around for a while.

Then he told her to pick it up. After an hour of dropping the thing over and over again, she got to the point of being able to hand it back to him. He held out his hand as the hilt floated into his palm and unintentionally rewarded her with a big, fat smile.

Kess looked, not believing she was successful until she saw it with her own eyes, and shot her fists into the air. "Yes!"

Luke backed up to the dune again and sat, latching his saber back on his belt, "Now. Catch me a mugrat."

She whipped her hair behind her shoulder, eager for more success. The peach collar of her shirt hung lopsided on her shoulders. Kess closed her eyes so her mind could grope under the sand for a mugrat. Luke's gaze fell on the nape of her neck.

"How do you get the sand out of their way?" She asked.

He ripped his eyes off her skin and stared at the ground instead, "Move the sand."

Kess' Force awareness sank into the sand until she found a dozen simple consciousnesses burrowed underneath. She stepped towards the nearest and scooped up the sleeping creature with imaginary hands. The mugrat squirmed out of her grasp in panic. She couldn't blame the poor thing. She'd be terrified too.

"It's okay, pal," she said softly, even though she knew the mugrat couldn't hear her. "I'm not going to hurt you." Somehow, the calming words managed to transmit her soft assurances to the creature and the mugrat relaxed into a nervous patience. The maneuver was complex. She had to concentrate on moving the mugrat, calming the mugrat, and moving the sand out of the way of the mugrat, all at the same time. By the time the animal came through the top layer of sand, she had slipped on calming it, and forgot about putting Force barriers _around_ the fidgety rodent.

As soon as its little beady eyes saw the daylight, it dashed right off of her disc-shaped Force attention. Her eyes went wide when the creature ran and, acting on instinct, Kess ran after it.

Her hands grabbed at the sand where the mugrat had been. It zipped a zigzag path up the firm slope of the two-metre dune, stopping and starting again as if to tease its pursuer. It wisely led her to the crest of the dune and ran straight down the almost vertical cliff on the other side.

Kess saw the two-metre drop and tried to skid to a stop at the crest. Just before her inertia sent her into a tumbling roll down the scoop, she cursed herself for not figuring out the animal's plan sooner. Part of the steep slope toppled with her, sending buckets of red sand onto her head. When she finally stopped rolling, she lay flat on her back and pounded the ground with her fists.

A tall figure appeared at the top of the crest and called down, "That isn't quite what I had in mind!"

Kess burst into laughter, realizing the scene must have looked like slapstick comedy to Luke. The sun hung in the sky behind him, giving his black shirt a golden aura. His hands rested on his hips, one knee bent for balance. She watched his chuckle grow into laughter and her memories took a snapshot of the Jedi Knight and king of the hill.

The crest of the dune gave way under his weight. His laughter came to an abrupt silence and pounds of sand tumbled with him into the scoop. Luke was already laughing again by the time he stopped rolling. He sat adjacent to her, both half-buried in the freshly collapsed sand and leaned his back against the dune slope to chortle hysterically.

Kess just watched him, giggling more that Luke was finally showing signs of humanity than anything else. She sat up to see him but otherwise didn't move. In due time, she would try to catch another mugrat but for now she was perfectly content to just sit there and watch Luke actually laugh.

His laughter died naturally, drifting into a faraway stare. "Biggs and I used to romp around the Dune Sea in buggies when I was a kid. We'd limp home covered in sand from head to toe." He let out a distant chuckle until it faded into deeper memories and continued, "One time, we were barreling through the flat at top speed coming straight for a four-metre scoop. And you couldn't tell by looking at straight on, but the scoop came up to almost ninety degrees like this one."

He leaned forward, looking at her with playful eyes. "I hit the dune running it wide open and shot straight up into the air... and hung there for a full second... and fell _backwards_. Biggs was behind me, and his buggy had a sun visor, so he couldn't see me in the air. Here he comes, tearing up the sand at full speed, until I plop down right in front of him, upside down. He hit me in the rear quarter panel, sending me spinning like a corkscrew, and he skids off sideways hitting the scoop like a brick wall. Half the crest came down on top of him. Aunt Beru blew a gasket when she saw me."

Kess beamed at the vision of two reckless farm boys in a harmless dune buggy accident. She shined even brighter when it hit her that Luke finally told her a story that had nothing to do with the Force.

Luke smiled at the forgotten memory, but his smile faded into the same old regret that Biggs's died on his starboard flank. He swallowed it away and glanced up to see Kess still giggling. Golden hair shimmered in the sunlight, her cheeks were flushed with laughter, and rose-coral lips peeled away with a smile. The old pain of losing his friend melted away. _Biggs would've liked her._

Her voice broke through his thoughts, "How old were you?"

Luke lowered his gaze. "Oh, I don't know. Fifteen, I guess."

Her smile changed as she recognized the mannerisms of a green farm boy. She watched his eyes dart about and find her again. The smile faded into a nervous grin like a teenager who was shy with his company. For a quick moment, she tried to sense the emotion he was emitting, but only found her own bubbling crush.

"Did you ever," he rubbed his lips and diverted his eyes, "ride in dune buggies?"

Kess thought… and decided not to think. _Do it before you change your mind._ Before logic took over, before he got away and turned back into the Jedi Master, Kess rolled up on her knees, rested her fists in the sand next to his leg, and kissed him.

She moved so quickly he barely had time to gasp before her lips touched his. Without opening her eyes or her mouth, she pressed her lips against his for several long seconds. Luke was holding his breath, motionless with shock. The warm tingle of attraction swelled in her chest and grew to elation when she realized he wasn't pushing her away...

...but he wasn't reaching for her either.

She pulled away and peeled her eyes open to find him sitting there with his eyes still closed, with the rusty sand dune behind him. It was the same sight she saw in her Force vision a week before. His upper body angled forward several degrees as he sat there for two full seconds, completely flabbergasted.

His lips parted to let out the pent up breath and blue eyes looked at her, paralyzed.

"Why did you that?" he breathed.

Kess was still stuck in a suspenseful hope that he'd reach for her. "Because you weren't planning on it."

Luke paused; his eyes closed for a long blink and—

He vigorously shook his head. He shot her a glare and started brushing the sand from his lap. Soon, he gave up and, in a burst of energy, stood to let the sand fall from him instead. "We're done for the day," he snapped quietly.

Kess' heart sank. She climbed to her feet only to find him looking down at her in thick disappointment. She dropped her gaze so she wouldn't have to see. "I'm sorry."

He spoke in a tense voice, "I'm training you to be a Jedi Knight, not court you. I'm sorry if you got the wrong impression, but this is _not_ what I had in mind." He saw her look up with pained eyes. "Either you are going to _drop the subject_ or I'm going to cancel your training altogether." He stared her down long enough for her to realize how serious he was about it, and turn his back to her to walk back to the hotel.

"Luke, I'm sorry!" She pleaded as she followed him.

He walked quickly, watching his destination, his voice growing rough, "That's _Master_ Luke if you can't keep it straight. Or if you can't manage to control yourself, you can just call me Commander." Emotion welled in his own throat. "You need to have the utmost dedication to your training, not crumble to childish whims."

Kess' defenses went up at the insult of his reactions. "You act like decked you!"

He stopped in his tracks and faced her, "It doesn't matter whether you kissed me, or decked me, or stabbed me with my own lightsaber. What matters is that you _lost control_. No matter what happens or how you feel, you must always maintain control of your own actions. I have beaten this subject into the ground and you still tossed logic aside in a matter of seconds!"

"Loosen up!" She yelled at him and waved her hands in the air. "Sure, you've got to maintain control in combat, even during work, but this is ridiculous! Falling in love, and especially sex, is _all about_ losing control!"

Luke stopped in his tracks and hissed harshly back at her. "My sex life is none of your business."

Kess fought the tears welling up in her eyes and hissed. "It was just a kiss!"

Luke clenched his teeth and pointed back at the dune, "No, Kess. _That_ was a _mistake_!"

She backed up a step, clenching her teeth, "You're damned right it was." Tears squeezed out of the corners of her eyes and she quickly turned so he wouldn't see them. She rushed down the beach as fast as her legs could carry her, gaining as much distance from the man as possible.

Luke let her go. For a long minute, he stared at the space where she had been standing. He felt her crushed heart and stifled tears all they way out to the street where her Force print faded into the masses on the sidewalk. He fell back into the slope of the dune behind him and rested his elbows on his bent knees. He stared out at the ocean, feeling his throat clench, dug his fingers into his bangs, and closed his eyes with a quick sigh.

Then he sighed again. "Now what do I do, Ben?"

He shook his head, knowing Obi-Wan wasn't going to show on command. Luke swallowed hard, closed his eyes, and, thoughtfully, licked his lips.

 

 

 


	37. LL1 36 Free Drink

** LL1       36        Free Drink **

Kess came to this pub only once before. She didn't crave the excitement of the gambling tables and most of her desire to drink until the early hours was nipped in the bud at the thought of being picked up with invisible hands and dropped into cold, crashing waves. Tomorrow morning, she would probably get dunked. She didn't want to imagine Luke's reaction at zero five hundred when he learned that his Jedi apprentice had a ripe hangover.

"Well, running didn't work," she grumbled into her drink. "I'm venting my passions the standard military way." She giggled as herself, "Us mere mortals—

Her voice trailed off as the fleeting thought passed too quickly before she could finish her sentence.

She tipped the glass to let the final sip dribble into her mouth and slammed it on the bar. "I guess that's what I get for falling for some omnipotent hero." She gazed sluggishly at the empty glass until a hand pulled it away and replaced it with a full one. Dark blue swirls poisoned the murky white milk into a concoction that would make a Bothan lose all its hair.

 _Was that my sixth? Or my seventh? Wait._ "I didn't order another drink."

She raised an eyebrow at the bartender. He motioned to a gambling table behind her.

Kess turned on her stool. A small sea of gambling tables murmured with various species and quiet games, only occasionally spiking with a polite applause of victory. It took Kess a moment to focus and scan the area until she found a pair of eyes returning her gaze. Through the smoky air, a dark-skinned man with a dashing white smile saluted her with two fingers.

Kess had a rule never to turn down a free drink. She picked up the glass and stood carefully. Concentrating not to stumble, she walked between the tables to the man. He sat comfortably at a blue velvet table and reviewed the solid looks from the other players.

"You looked like you were drowning your sorrows." The man said, requesting another card with a simple wave of his hand. "I thought I'd aide you in your quest."

Kess stepped behind him to watch the game, "That's awfully observant of you." She checked the numbers glowing from the betting monitor and her eyes went wide.

"Do you play?" he asked without turning, "Why don't you sit down and join us?"

"I play a little, but I don't have that kind of money to lose."

The man grinned, "As long as you lose, we don't care what kind of money you have."

Chuckles rolled through the other players. Kess looked at each of them in turn, sensing a variety of elation, deceit, and fear riding on their surface emotions. It occurred to her that she could sense who was bluffing and who had a decent hand. With the Force as her ally, she could make out like a bandit in a single round.

Her conscience prodded her, though. That would be cheating and unfair to her opponents. She would end up stashing the loot somewhere and not touch it, unable to shake the guilt. And if the others ever found out about her hidden abilities, she would surely have a death mark on her head higher than her salary. No wonder Luke didn't gamble.

The man tugged at his mustache with his fingers and, as per the dealer's instruction, laid his cards on the table. Kess and the others players recognized an Idiot's Array.

The gentleman bowed his head at them while the dealer downloaded his winnings.

"Thank you ladies and gentlemen. It's been a pleasure." The man stood, took his drink, and politely ushered Kess to an empty table not far away. Kess sat cautiously down.

"I saw you working on a Corellian Freighter the other day." He looked her confidently in the eye and sipped his drink. "It happens to be exactly the ride I'm looking for."

Kess sat back, "Sorry. She's not for sale."

He leaned forward in his chair, "I'm not looking to buy her. I need transport. That freighter is the perfect size."

She shook her head sympathetically. "My skipper's in the middle of a deal. I'd love to help you, but I really don't think we're available for cargo." The undercover story rolled once through her mind, remembering all the fine details to pull off this probably innocent conversation.

The man shrugged. "It couldn't hurt to ask. Why don't you take me to your Captain and I'll make it worth his while."

Kess brought the glass to her mouth and stared at him over the rim. She may have been half-drunk, but she wasn't stupid. "Why don't you give me the information where you can be reached, and my Captain will decide for himself if it's worth his while."

Black eyes smiled as his first ploy unraveled. "I need to see him sooner than that."

Kess heckled madly at him, "Look, what do you expect me to do? You buy me a drink, pull me aside and demand that I take you to my leader? I don't even know who you are."

He smiled bashfully, "I'm sorry," and offered a hand to her, "My name is Han Solo."

Kess snickered, shook her head, and started to get up.

The man dropped his gaze to the table top and spoke cold and low. "And your reaction admitted your connection with Solo. You're the Lieutenant assigned to the _Falcon_ while the New Alliance is here for the Frakkan treaty." Black eyes lifted to meet hers again. "Right?"

Her laughter died an uncomfortable, miserable death.

* * *

Luke showered and changed into pajamas. He forced himself to concentrate on what he was reading, but his mind wandered off for the twentieth time in this hour alone. He tossed the datapad aside on the couch and pulled his legs off the footrest. A single light in front of the elevator was the room's only illumination and reflected off the dirty dome head of his sleeping droid. Artoo hunched in the corner of the sitting area next to Threepio, who was just as lifeless.

Leia and Han had turned in hours ago. Chewie went to bed shortly after that. The suite had been deathly quiet ever since, no quiet rush of wind through the elevator shaft, no click of the card key to open the doors. He looked at the chrono on the wall.

Luke pulled himself off the couch and turned around, reviewing the dining table. Datapads cluttered its surface and chairs weren't pushed in. He strolled tiredly up the step towards his room and looked again at Kess' bedroom door resting open.

Giving in, Luke shuffled his feet to her door. He rested his shoulder on the jam and turned on the light.

The pale blue bedcovers crumpled slightly in places where she'd sat on it after the B9 droid cleaned her room. Civilian ankle boots sat neatly on the floor and army green jumpsuit hung over the back of the desk chair. One of the pillows on her bed was crooked, but it wasn't depressed with the telltale sign that she'd rested her head in it.

His brow furrowed. He peeled his shoulder from the door and walked across the floor. Pulling up the pillow, he found a brass hilt of a lightsaber hiding underneath as if she had been staring wishfully at it before going to sleep every night.

Luke picked it up with a weak grin, rolled it over in his hand, and flipped open the side panel. A wad of components cleanly soldered together inside, the dummy load fitted next to the gaping hole where a crystal should have been.

She had finished the dud saber to completion except for the crystal. Luke smiled and sighed sadly, closing the panel with his thumb until it clicked back into place. He detected the faint smell of her perfume and the mustiness of canvas coveralls. He could almost feel the afterimage of her playful crush.

Luke realized he had closed his eyes to envision her smiling face and shook the vision from his thoughts. He put the saber back in its place and laid the pillow neatly over top of it. His bare feet padded on the carpet as he left the room and crawled into his own bed. As he cuddled his shoulder into the mattress, he looked at the chrono on the comm screen.

She'd been gone nearly eight hours.

Maybe he reacted too harshly to her, but he thought he'd made his requirements clear when she had the vision weeks before. She didn't try to hide how she felt about him. The look in her eyes was often obvious. Luke forced himself to ignore it daily, hoping that it would just go away, and pretended not to notice the flavor of emotion she radiated at him.

 _Control_ , Yoda's voice echoed in his memory, _you must learn control._

_How do I teach her keep control until her training is over?_

He sighed into the darkness of his room and whispered aloud, "When training is over, Kess..." He listened to the sound of her name in the air, "Kesselia K. Lendra..."

He remembered the rooster tails of sand she'd kicked up as she clumsily chased down the skittering mugrat, and how ungracefully she toppled over the crest of the sand dune. When he finally cleared his eyes of sand from his own fall, her tousled hair shined in the sunlight. Her cheeks flushed with laughter and her eyes glowed with attraction. It was the first time anyone had looked at him like that in… _ever_.

Luke's own self-control crumbled to her spell. He told her a farm boy story with farm boy emotions and farm boy laughter, and just like any pretty, city girl would, her self-control broke down to kiss the farm boy to see if he would blush.

Luke caught himself beaming into the darkened room as he remembered it. He remembered the smell of her and the taste of her. He remembered his conscious thoughts fighting loudly against his own control. _Open your stupid mouth and kiss her back!_

Not until training is over.

Just this once, he decided not to meditate himself to sleep. In a Jedi Trance, he didn't dream. And even though he couldn't kiss her back now, no law said that he couldn't think about it. He imagined what he would do if he could, and a smile spread across his lips as he drifted into a mortal sleep. He would dream on command, about a teen-aged, farm boy/pilot response to a city girl kissing him in the sand dunes.

 


	38. LL1       37        Capturing Jedi

** LL1       37        Capturing Jedi **

"Who are you?" Kess asked the man as soon as she could breathe again.

"My name is Lando Calrissian," he said. "I have a private message for Solo from Chief Commander Mothma. And it's urgent."

Kess touched on her senses for deceit in him but she found none. She didn't trust herself though, not after seven drinks. _Or was is eight?_ "Yeah, okay. Prove it."

He grinned like she was insane. "Forgive me if I don't flaunt my Alliance identichip in here."

Kess stood to escape, "Well then you're just going to have to think up something else." If she could buy some time, if she could sneak back to the hotel and tell Solo about the stranger. If she could just lose the guy for a few minutes... "I'll be at the bar when you think of something."

"I've got a bad feeling about this," he said clearly, standing to follow her.

Kess stopped.

He bent over and whispered in her ear. "That line is an inside joke by now. Leia calls him a nerfherder. Han calls her Her Worshipfulness. Chewie still eats like a starving Gamorrean and Luke levitates the pepper across the dinner table."

Kess grinned with reluctance.

Calrissian kept his voice low. "I'm not a General anymore, so I can't order you, and I'm not the kind of guy to pull a blaster on a potential friend. So I'm asking you, _please_ , take me to them now."

Kess looked down at her half-empty glass to think, then poured the remaining liquor down her gullet. Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, she met his eye. "C'mon."

* * *

B9 stood with his arm comfortably plugged into the wall. Shuley removed her palms from her weary face and looked at the droid from her stiff position on the couch. Her lips were pulled in with the visible effort to keep her mouth shut. Levilot sat across from Shuley, not feeling any better about the situation than she, but not letting his worry show in his face either.

Admiral Cheenan paced in front of them all, tapping his thumb rapidly on the hilt of his lightsaber.

Daitahn turned away, growing tired of the Admiral's nervous pacing, and reviewed the small army of six stormtroopers standing in ranks in the corner of the hotel suite. They didn't look back at him. They just stood there awaiting further orders, but Daitahn suspected the troops were itching for action and the pending raid on Rebel politicians.

B9 turned his silver grill of a smile towards the sitting area. "Lieutenant Lendra has entered the south entrance and is proceeding to the south elevator."

Cheenan stopped and boomed an order at the droid, "Send in the seekers!"

B9 returned his head to default zero degrees, not programmed to notice the strain in a human's voice. "Yes, sir," he responded happily and removed his attention from the hotel and door monitors to activate the preprogrammed seekers.

Daitahn could hear the soft wind rushing by as the elevator car carried the body to the suite above, and immediately requested the next car.

Levilot slowly stood, "We'll be waiting in the precinct office."

* * *

In the hushed darkness of Luke's room, a white wall tile slid aside. A hovering mechanical ball the size of a large apple floated in the air. A single dot of white light shined from its visual sensors onto the darkened floor. The seeker floated forward until the tiny beam of light passed over Luke's bed. Then it stopped, adjusted its vector over the sleeping body, and moved up towards the head of the bed. The light reached Luke's shoulder.

Luke stirred.

The seeker paused, blinking off the light until the movement ceased. Then, exactly five seconds after Luke returned to a motionless sleep, the seeker hovered forward, the white light targeting the flesh on his neck.

The seeker whirred quietly as it armed its needle with poison. Once in place, the seeker switched off its repulsor circuit. It dropped like a lead weight onto Luke's neck, sending the needle, and the poison, deep into his jugular vein.

Luke lurched. Every muscle in his body slammed stiff. His eyes flashed blankly wide. Then he shuddered uncontrollably and fell limp.

The spent seeker fell to the carpet with a quiet thump.

Seconds later, a quiet rush of wind moved through the elevator shaft followed by the click as a card key accessed the lock.

Elevator doors slid open and a single woman stepped out, reviewing a room she'd never been to before. An odd cut of green coveralls hung loosely on her thin figure. Cherry-tinted hair was tucked away to hide under a dirty blond wig. Lavender eyes fell on the shiny gold frame of the protocol droid sitting on standby. The girl moved instantly to Threepio.

Zoiy was a good thief and she knew it. She knew how to snag the card key from an accidental fall, she knew to wait until the suspicion of it missing fell through the cracks, and she knew exactly how the elevator and door monitors identified non-Frakkan humans. All of her thieving knowledge was about to pay off: that droid would make her the money to get off this stinking planet and start over.

She fell to her knees in front of Threepio and ripped open his chest panel to disconnect the memory circuits.

The wind quietly rushed in the elevator shaft. Zoiy sprang to her feet, heading straight for the kitchen where she could hide in a cupboard but she wasn't fast enough. As the elevator doors opened, she dove behind the couch to lay on the carpet, but it was a weak hiding place. Hopefully, the woman she was impersonating would just head directly for bed and not see her at all.

Feet padded quietly onto the carpet, but there was more than one body coming into the room. Confused, Zoiy dared to peek, but just as she looked, the gleaming white armor of a stormtrooper stepped around the couch, lowered his stun gun at her face, and showered her with blue white-bolts.

* * *

Kess leaned against the reflective elevator wall. "Nope. Not happening. _You_ can wake Solo up."

Lando crossed his arms at his chest. "Don't you guys get along?"

"It's nothing personal, I'm sure." Kess pulled out her new card key and slid it into the slot. The access lock clicked and the doors slid aside. "He's a smuggler. He doesn't trust anybody. I'm no except—

Kess' brows knitted over her nose. "Where's the droids?"

Threepio and Artoo weren't sitting on the couch where they should have been. She looked around the room, sensing something was very wrong. Datapads lay on the table. Chairs were never pushed in. Luke's tunic hung across the iron railing of the sitting area as if he just walked in the door. Everything seemed normal, except for the droids.

"Look here," Lando said.

Kess met him at the other side of the sitting area and looked where he pointed at the ground. A spot of red blood was still soaking into the pale carpet. Their eyes followed the barely visible dribble trail that led them straight to Chewie's room. Lando stepped forward and slammed his hand on the door control. The footrest-bed-extender was kicked aside. The blankets on the floor and the stripped bed were all speckled with the Wookiee's blood.

Lando angrily went to the room next door and slammed it open. Seeing the same signs of a bloody struggle in Han and Leia's room, Lando balled his fists and glared at Kess.

Fear welled up in Kess' throat. She raced down the wall and frantically punched Luke's door open. The blankets were tossed aside. No blood that she could see, but no Luke either. Kess sucked in a quivering sigh and stepped in.

She looked around the room again. There was no lightsaber, but the rest of his things lay undisturbed.

Lando hissed at her from the door, "We'd better get out of here."

 

 


	39. LL1 38 Getting Shot At

** LL1       38        Getting Shot At **

Han felt a wave of nausea when he opened his eyes and tried to focus. He hung from his wrists in the center of an iron bar cell. His feet were bound to the floor in the same kind of metal shackles. Through two rows of bars, he saw a limp, hanging figure in white pajamas and squinted to recognize Luke's head hanging from his shoulders like his neck was broken.

"Luke?" Han called and realized his mouth was still filled with blood from being pounded in the face with a butt of a blaster. He heard a weak growl. "Chewie?" He turned his dizzy head and tried to scan the other cells for his friend. Most of the six, square cells had a body hanging from binders tied to the ceiling. Leia hung motionless in the cell next to Luke and Chewie barely balanced on his feet in the cell next to him. "Chewie? Are you all right?"

Chewie grumbled quietly. Drying blood matted his brown fur in several places. He must have put up a hell of a fight. Chewie softly hooted Kess' name.

Han managed to pull his bound ankles underneath him and raised himself onto his bare feet. The bump on his head sent his eyes spinning wildly, but he was able to focus for occupants in the other cells. There was only one other: a woman hanging unconscious in the cell next to Leia in green coveralls too big for her body and shoulder-length blond hair. Something didn't seem right. He squinted harder.

_That's not Lendra._

He closed his eyes and cussed. "I should have known she be behind this."

The thick door of the holding area swung on thick hinges until it slammed into the wall. An Imperial Admiral marched in with Governor Levilot and two stormtroopers. The Admiral didn't look at Han, not even at Luke, but went straight to the woman who had dressed to look like Lendra.

Han watched the stormtroopers open the door of her cell and release the woman's wrist shackles from the ceiling. Han called out with sarcasm, "Hey Governor, you wanna explain this one to me?"

Levilot turned to him with tight lips. The Admiral didn't turn at all, simply threw a thumb over his shoulder. "Shut him up."

The second stormtrooper pointed a blaster at Han. Han promptly closed his lips.

" _What?_ " The Admiral shouted. He turned around with a wad of a blond hair in his angry fist. "What is this?"

Levilot's face turned to horror when he realized the wig. He shook his head and tried to speak an explanation but found nothing intelligent to say.

Cheenan's red face nearly hit Levilot's. "You got the _wrong person_? " Before Levilot had a chance to breathe, the Admiral stomped to Han's cell, "Where is she!"

Han stared down the Admiral with his lips still drawn shut. He may not have liked Kess very much, and she could still very well be a spy, but he wouldn't turn in a member of his crew until he knew all the facts.

The Admiral threw the wig to the ground. "Tell me or I'll have you shot where you stand!"

Han said nothing and stared at the Admiral with Rebel determination.

Cheenan's face went ever redder. His teeth clenched into a solid rock of a jaw. He turned and stormed out of the room.

Levilot met Han's eyes and said a very quiet (and not so sincere), "I'm sorry."

Han flattened his mouth at the Governor.

Levilot motioned to the stormtroopers into action. They promptly removed the woman from her cell and ungraciously dragged her out of the holding area.

* * *

Kess and Lando found a dark alley near the docking bay and roughly tossed stuffed bags of luggage in a shadowy corner. Lando jerked his head and Kess followed him up a set of exterior, duracrete stairs for building next door to the docking pay. The short but solid stairwell railing gave them a convenient hiding place. Quietly, the pair crawled up to the landing of the third floor and peered over the short wall.

The roof of the docking bay was still open from the day's work in the beautiful sunshine. A single fluorescent light glowed onto the dirty gray hull of the _Millennium Falcon_ nestled quietly within the walls.

"There she is," Lando whispered into the midnight stillness. "At least we know they didn't just leave without you."

Kess whispered to him, "How did you get here?"

"Public transport." Lando's eyes scanned the area. "But even if I did have my own ship here, how do you think Han would react to you getting them out of the Frakkan System and leaving the _Falcon_ behind?" He turned a pair of grinning brown eyes at her.

Kess pursed her lips. "Okay, never mind."

Lando's eyes searched the area, squinting through the dark of night. "What kind of shape is she in?"

Kess whispered, "I was working on the fuse box. It'll take maybe five minutes to get that up and running. But Chewie was doing something with the shield generators. I don't know what. And yesterday, I removed some autofoam from a hull breach but I haven't gone to get a sheet metal replacement yet."

Lando nodded, "So we could fix her quickly, but only if we could get to her."

Kess snarled at him, slightly raising her whispered voice, "Of course we can get to her. There's nobody out here."

"Shh," Lando hissed, grabbing her forearm before she stood up. "Take a closer look. See that bum on the street?" Lando turned around and leaned his back against the stone railing. "When was the last time you saw a bum in Sultani?"

Sure enough, a not-so-old man sat hunched in a shadowy corner, dressed in rags and sucking a bottle. His dark eyes slowly moved up the street and back down again. He was sitting rather close to the docking bay's only foot entrance.

Kess scanned over the quiet streets again, imagining the scene of bustling midday of hundreds of finely dressed Frakkans. "Good point. But if they wanted to keep me from taking off, why don't they just post obvious stormtroopers?"

Lando looked at her in the darkness and stated the obvious, "Because they want you to _try_."

Kess squinted with insanity, "What would they want _me_ for?"

Lando lowered his already quiet whisper. "We received information that the Frakkans would try to take the Usak if it wasn't given to them and that is exactly what they are trying to do."

Her face turned to horror. Kess backed up on wavering arms and knees and fell into the opposite wall. The facts raced through her mind, little tidbits of seemingly irrelevant information now fit together to form one solid conclusion.

Her throat slammed shut in fear. The pain of betrayal made her heart thump louder. Her breath quivered and tears welled up in her eyes. _Would he really turn me in for a treaty?_

Lando read the look on her face and dismissed it like she was stupid. "If they were going to trade you for a treaty, you'd be in jail right now, not them."

"But if it's me they want, why did they raid the suite while I wasn't there?"

Lando shrugged. "It was late. Don't you usually get back earlier than that? You still haven't told be why you were out drowning your sorrows while the rest of your team was getting kidnapped."

Kess lowered her gaze in nervous guilt, "Luke and I got in an argument, that's all."

"Over _what_?" he asked sharply, almost chuckling at her. " _Luke_ doesn't get into arguments for no reason."

The circumstances demanded that she reveal all the information she knew. Besides, she knew Lando didn't trust her quite yet and if she was going to get off this planet, she was going to need his help. "I kissed him," she admitted.

Lando grinned and then he rubbed his forehead. "Now why would he get upset over that?"

Kess tapped on the hilt of the useless lightsaber. "I'm his apprentice. I'm supposed to wait until Jedi training is over before I seduce him."

Lando's eyes popped out of their sockets as he recognized the contraption hanging from her belt. His shock sputtered to a laugh and he had to work to keep his voice down.

Kess blushed at Lando's reaction and deep down prayed that Luke was okay. This was all her fault. Her Captain, his First Officer, a high-ranking Ambassador, and the last living Jedi Knight were all kidnapped and their lives were in danger over little ol' Kess. Thank the Force Lando showed up; she would be completely lost at what to do if he hadn't. She had a sick feeling in her stomach imagining the debriefing if they ever made it back to Yavin Base alive.

Her Force senses twanged and pulled her from her worry. She closed her eyes to concentrate and recognized another person walking hurriedly down the empty city street. "Shh," she whispered and climbed up on their knees to peek. Lando went silent and joined her to peer over the half-high wall.

A Frakkan woman in a dark jumpsuit walked quickly down the street. Unkempt blond hair hung to her neck and fists were shoved deep into the pockets of baggy coveralls.

The bum watched with shadowy eyes, but otherwise didn't move.

The woman walked by him without looking up. As soon as she passed, she rose her face to look at the glass walls of the hotel.

Kess and Lando dropped behind the wall. Kess' face pursed in thought, then brown eyes widened in recognition. "She stole my crystal _and_ my keycard. And now she's dressed like me?"

"What?" Lando mouthed.

"She's the thief that bumped me in the street." She tried to explain. "If she went to the suite dressed like me, that's why they thought I was in there."

Lando shook his head at her, completely lost, "What are you talking about?"

Kess backed down the steps on her hands and knees. "But if they snagged her thinking she was me, why isn't she still captured with the rest of them?" She pulled her useless saber from her belt and slunk into the shadows close as she could to the street.

The soft clicking of shoes grew slowly louder. Kess closed her eyes and felt out to pinpoint the woman's Force print. As soon as the body cleared the wall, Kess shot out her arm and grabbed the woman around her chest, shoved the lightsaber hilt into her back, and dragged her backwards into the alley. Kess whispered roughly into her ear, "You scream, I shoot."

Lando stood in the corner, his hands out in disbelief and confusion.

The woman didn't flinch, or struggle, or even gasp. She simply nodded and lifted her hands to show that she was unarmed. Kess backed off to let her turn around. The woman's shoulders relaxed and she sighed. "You're Lendra, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

She dropped her arms, glanced at Lando, and drilled her eyes into Kess. "I have a message from Admiral Cheenan. If you turn yourself in, he will let the others go free. If you don't, he will kill all your friends."

Lando stepped forward, "Who are _you_?"

The girl fumbled with that one. "My name is Zoiy. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." She looked at Kess again. "I don't want to be in the middle of this. I've delivered my message, let me be on my way."

Lando whispered stiffly, "How were they to be sure you'd delivered the message?'

"They said they'll kill me if I didn't," as if that explained it, but she didn't understand the question.

"No," Lando placed a hand on one elbow each of the naïve women in front of him and started pulling them deeper into the alley. "How would they know you delivered it if they didn't follow you?"

 _ZAPT_! A red bolt charred the stone wall next to Zoiy's head. In a frantic stumble, all three bodies tore through the alley. With few equipment cases along the way, there wasn't much to take cover behind. Lando cussed and pulled out a blaster. The small weapon wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Without pausing his headlong run, he barely aimed behind him and fired.

 _ZAT_! Another red bolt hit the corner of the building just as Kess passed it. She ducked and ran full speed through the shadows down the street.

Zoiy peeled off from the chase, obviously knowing the city's layout better and hoping to lose her dangerous company. She ran towards the beach where she could have been easily cornered. Lando followed the native, whether she wanted them to or not. Kess followed Lando and wondered if the man knew that Kess didn't know how to swim.

 _ZOP! ZOP!_ Two more bolts sank into a tall sand dune. Kess and Lando followed the girl into the looming hills, barely escaping flying blast shots. Zoiy ducked around a dune ahead of them but when Lando and Kess came around the corner, she was gone.

Kess stopped and shut her eyes to use her novice Force senses, but Lando grabbed her by the collar and yanked her to the ground with him.

 _ZZZZIIINNNNGGG-P!_ A bolt sailed over her head and hit the opposite sand dune.

Kess screamed in her mind. _How the hell am I supposed to concentrate when someone is shooting at me?_

Forcing her panic to calm, she was able to vaguely detect a person running full speed away from them, underground.

"This way." Kess crawled combat style around the scoop of another dune. Lando followed her, pausing to shoot back and missing.

Her elbow thumped on something hollow. She felt with her hands and found that the sand in this one spot was firm and stiff, like concrete perfectly camouflaged to be tiny mounds.

ZAP! That bolt hit a different dune. The pursuer had lost sight of them for the moment. Kess found the edges of the door and pried it open. Lando dove inside and Kess dove after him, letting the door fall into place above her head. ZAP!

The sound of the blast shots went silent in the pitch black of the tunnel.

Kess closed her eyes and found the girl's Force print running off to the right. Keeping her eyes shut (since she couldn't see anyway) she grabbed Lando's hand, and ran in that direction. The dampness of the tunnels filled their nostrils as they panted. They were only a few metres behind the girl and could hear the occasional splash as she ran through muddy puddles.

They went left, then right, then another right, zigzags and U-turns, straight alleys and curving caves. The catacombs had no light whatsoever. Lando whispered through his quiet pant, "I hope you know what you're doing."

Several minutes later, after twisting and turning in the tunnels to the point that they could have been under the other side of town, the woman stopped in her tracks and fell to the ground. Kess stopped and concentrated, hoping she didn't lose her, but detected the growing fear and heavy breathing.

Kess walked around the corner that masked her and looked down in the darkness, barely able to see the redhead that couldn't keep up the chase.

"How did you-?" Zoiy breathed in terror and amazement. "How did you-?"

Lando knelt in front of the girl, groping a little for the wall, for her forearm. "We're not going to hurt you and we're not going to turn you in. We just need to know where our buddies are being held and you seem to have first-hand experience."

* * *

The reporting stormtrooper fell to the floor of the office in a dead heap of white armor.

Admiral Cheenan huffed through his nose and released the grip from the man's throat. In a burst of rage, his other hand threw Skywalker's lightsaber hilt so hard it dented the wall in the precinct office.

Levilot flinched. He held his breath as the seething Admiral stalked to face him and scowl nose to nose with the man. "So what is your next brilliant idea, Governor?"

 

 

 


	40. LL1 39 Amber Lightsaber

** LL1       39        Amber Lightsaber **

A pale light pushed away the darkness of the catacombs. Kess and Lando hunched around the small lamp and reviewed Zoiy's sketches of the precinct floor. Zoiy sat at the other end of the single room home, hugging herself in a ratty chair. "Why do they want you so badly?" She asked in a quivering voice. This was all too much for her to handle.

Kess barely turned to her, "They think I'm something called an Usak."

Zoiy rubbed her face with her hand. "Good for you."

Kess gave her a double take. "You know what that is? What it that mean?"

Zoiy squinted and rolled her hand in the air for the right word in basic. "A big female dog."

Kess flatted her mouth at the only synonym she could think of to that. "And they never even met me."

Lando brushed it off with a smirk. "Where are they holding our team?"

Zoiy curled her lip at him, "Look, I don't care a bit about your missions and things. I just want off this stone. If you don't turn me in, I won't turn you in. We can go our separate ways."

Lando clasped his hands together. "We can't do that."

The girl winced again like a teenager in trouble.

Lando sat down on the table to look the girl in the eyes. "But, if you want to get out of here, I'm willing to make you a deal."

Zoiy's purple eyes shifted to him, untrusting.

"First thing's first." Kess sat down on the table next to Land and eyed the girl as well. "Tell me you still have that crystal you stole from me in the street."

Uncertain, Zoiy pointed to a cluttered cubby on the other side of the little room. Kess stood and rummaged until she found the part sitting amongst the mess. As Lando negotiated help from Zoiy in return for passage out of here, Kess plucked the amber crystal from the cubby with one hand and pulled up her lightsaber hilt from her belt with the other.

* * *

Levilot stepped into the holding area alone and shut the thick door behind him. Gray eyes were tired and panicking. He stepped to Han's cell and spoke in a low voice. "The Imperial Admiral uncovered our treaty negotiations and is obviously upset about it. He's willing to let you and your party go unharmed if the Usak is turned over to him." He wrapped his white fingers around the bars of Han's cell. "He will level this entire city if we don't find her soon. Please, I beg of you Captain, for the lives of innocent thousands, _where is your Lieutenant?_ "

Han looked at the man with cold resolve, "Even if I knew, do you think I'd tell you? If she were smart she'd be halfway back to Yavin by now."

"We went on lockdown before he raided your hotel suite. No ships have left the planet." Levilot looked to Luke eagerly, "Would Skywalker be able to find her?"

Han looked at Luke hanging deathly still from his wrists. He hadn't stirred once since Han woke up. "Not in that condition, he can't. Funny how offering to let us go without harm doesn’t do much good when we've already been harmed."

"He is simply sedated," Levilot whispered. "It was the only way we could immobilize a Jedi."

"Well, you succeeded." Han hissed at him. "And now you can throw your hope of a treaty with the New Alliance into the nearest black hole."

Levilot's eyes flicked to Han at the insult, but knew he deserved it. Without further argument, the Governor gave up walked away.

* * *

Zoiy led the way through the tunnels for over a kilometre and finally stopped under a gaping hole in the ceiling. She pulled a wet rope from the wall and held it out to Kess. It dangled from an unknown spot in the dense blackness above, but seemed to be a strong attachment.

"There's a ladder when you get to the elevator shaft, maybe two stories up or so." Her whisper echoed against the walls. "There's no light so you'll have to count floors with your hands."

Kess locked her now fully-functional, fully-lethal lightsaber to her belt. "Isn't there some landmark I can go by?"

Zoiy shook her head. "Never noticed. I'm always coming down."

Kess grabbed the damp rope with both hands and smiled at Lando, "See you on the flip side."

Lando looked up the dank shaft, "How long should we give you?"

Kess looked up and saw nothing. "Several hours. I'll call you when I'm in."

Lando was verbal that he didn't like letting Kess do this part, but the _Falcon_ was their ticket out. They agreed that Han would be even less amenable to Kess flying the ship for their getaway. "Well," he gave her a friendly sigh, "May the Force be with you."

She smiled, "You too." With that, she lifted herself with both hands, planted her feet on the wall, and started climbing up.

Lando watched the three seconds it took her body to disappear into the darkness. Then he turned to the tunnel with Zoiy. "Let's go."

* * *

The pale morning glow crept into the city streets. An occasional bird chirped in the cold air. Occasional speeders zipped down the streets. Shops were starting to open up making Zoiy not the only person to pass by the alert bum.

Zoiy painted her lips with the bright red lipstick, blotted them together, and, with the palm of her hand, smeared the fresh lipstick across her face. She let her shoulders sink and dragged her feet around the corner. The bitter morning air stung at her exposed skin. She had to change into the most revealing outfit for this con.

Sluggishly, she sauntered up the sidewalk and purposefully passed the bum still hunched in front of the docking bay. She stopped thoughtfully and turned around. "Sssscuse me," she slurred as she reached him. "Kin you tell me which way the Tannic Hotel is?"

The bum shook his head at her with clear eyes. "Beat it."

Zoiy squinted slowly, "I was jest axing of directions. Which way is the Tannic- _hic_ Hotel?" She collapsed to her knees, falling forward into his lap, and began to giggle.

The man pushed her roughly aside, "I said beat it!"

When he half-turned to push her, Zoiy caught a glimpse of a shadow slipping through the door. "My ain't we little grouchy this mooning." She climbed on her hands and knees and used the wall to help her stand the rest of the way. "I'll find it myself."

Zoiy stumbled down the street and, as soon as she was out of sight, deftly disappeared around a corner.

* * *

"Ten." Kess breathed the number every time she exhaled, pulled her body up another rung of the ladder, and said it again. "Ten." Exhale, step, inhale. "Ten." Exhale, step, inhale. "Ten." It was the surest way she would not lose count.

A breeze picked up and quickly grew to a gale force wind. Kess scrambled off the ladder to smash her against the wall between building frame beams. An elevator hummed upward and passed her, drying her face of the sweat with rushing air.

As soon as the air settled again, she swung out back to the ladder and resumed her steady climb. "Ten." and felt the jutting seem of the next floor. Exhale, step, inhale. "Eleven."

* * *

Zoiy brought the last bag and dropped it into the pile on the beach. A single sheet of metal leaned against one side of the pile, reflecting the morning sun. Between the six bags from the jailed group, Lando's bag from his own hotel room, and Zoiy collection of things she wasn't willing to leave behind, the pile had grown in size to look like they were trying to move an entire household for a family of four.

The pile nestled between sand dunes on the beach and Zoiy plopped down into the slope next to it. She pulled the commlink from her pocket and whispered into it. "I'm ready."

"Okay." Lando's voice came back in a rough whisper. "Sit tight. You'll hear her the same time I will, so stay sharp."

* * *

"Twenty-two." Exhale, step, inhale. "Twenty-two." Exhale, step, inhale. "Twenty-two." At one point, she considered grabbing a hold of a passing elevator car but quickly disregarded the idea. Even if she could hold on as it sailed skyward, she couldn't count floors in the darkness. Besides, how would she jump off without falling twenty-two floors. Twenty-three floors.

She was bored with counting but knew she had to continue so she sang in heaving whispers. "Twenty-three green and speckled frogs. Twenty-three on a speckled log. Twenty-three the most delicious bugs. Yum yum."

Another jutting seam of the next floor. Kess didn't pause. "Twenty-four jumped into the pool. Twenty-four was nice and cool. Then there were twenty-four speckled frogs. Plop. Plop."

 


	41. LL1 40 Jailbreak

** LL1       40        Jailbreak **

Admiral Cheenan's stern blue eyes stared out the window. He'd grown weary of his own churning anger. It had been a long night. All his efforts to capture the Usak had been defeated. He wanted to vent is frustrations on the measly government representatives in the room but tactically know he needed the Frakkan spy network to retrieve the Usak from Yavin System once she returned, as she eventually would.

The Frakkans were the one's who found the Usak in the first place. They must be doing something right.

Levilot, Shuley, and Daitahn sat quietly behind him in the precinct office. Fear and hate echoed to Cheenan through the Force and was only amplified back. He had Levilot right where he wanted him: terrified. The Governor was willing to do anything to prevent more lives from being lost.

But they were all completely drained of ideas.

Cheenan stood and squared his shoulders. The Frakkans looked up attentively, yet penitently, hoping that another death was not about to take place.

Cheenan smiled instead. What he was about to say would scare them even more.

"I am returning to the _Tarkin_ to communicate with Master Kadaan about this incident. You will report to me if you receive any new leads but I'll be back in short order." He moved to the door and prepared to open it, but paused. "If I were you, Governor, I would put forth every effort to find that Usak before I return."

Levilot nodded without looking up and, as soon as the door closed behind the Admiral, everyone relaxed considerably from the absolute fear and into a frantic worry.

* * *

It took Lando a few minutes to inspect the fuse box and finish Kess' work without powering anything up. In the stillness of early morning, even the quiet cluck of switching on the cockpit power would have echoed outside the ship to alert their watcher.

He'd tiptoed in stocking feet to the starboard corridor where one of the bulkhead panels had been stripped away to access the shield generator. By visuals alone, it took nearly an hour to figure out what Chewie was up to with the shield generator and Lando ended up doing a quick jumper fix to bypass the circuit anyway.

Now, as far as he could tell without diagnostics, the _Falcon_ was as ready as she was going to get. He lovingly traced a finger along the bulkhead as he returned to the main cargo bay and flopped down on the blue repulsor couch.

This baby had gotten him out of worse situations, he noted. He, Han, Chewie, Leia, and Luke all had saved each others lives at one point in time or another, but the _Millennium Falcon_ always seemed to be the common denominator. Lando smirked to himself. The ship deserved all those medals instead them.

Lando pulled the commlink from his pocket, ensured that it was on, and rested his head on the back of the couch to await the Lieutenant's signal.

* * *

"Thirty-four green and speckled frogs." She panted up another rung, barely whispering the tune under her breath. "Thirty-four green and speckled logs." Her thigh muscles burned, her calves ached, and her shoulders were tense in knots. "Eating most delicious bugs. Yum yum. Thirty-four. Into the pool. Thirty-four. Nice and cool." She felt the lip of the next floor and grinned in the darkness. "Then there were thirty- _five_ speckled frogs. Yes, sir!"

In a rush of energy, she lifted herself several more rungs to stand even with the thirty-fifth floor and waited there a full two minutes to rest her body and catch her breath. Once the pumping blood had calmed and Kess blinked at the darkness to focus on the next task at hand, she hooked her weary elbow around a rung at her chest.

With her other hand, she pulled the commlink out of her pocket and spoke into it. "I still can't believe these morons put a holding area next to an elevator shaft."

Lando's voice sounded back. "Kess? You're in? I was getting worried."

"You try to climb a ladder for thirty-five stories." She paused, trying to focus her eyes on the wall in the darkness. "Here we go. Come and get us."

"Gotchya, Zoiy—

Kess turned off the commlink, knowing that the cameras would pick up the conversation when she cut through the wall. She ignited the amber blade to glow brightly in the darkness.

Kess grinned.

She cut a giant slash through the durasteel wall. The blade sunk into the material like a butter knife. Adjusting her grip, she managed a crooked hole, turned off the saber, and kicked the piece with all her weakened might. It broke loose and clattered on the floor inside.

The noise echoed through the elevator shaft as light poured in. Kess maneuvered her body to avoid the hot, sharp rim of her fresh cut hole and angled up. Without climbing inside yet, she ignited the saber again and reached up inside the wall. With one quick, clumsy stroke, she sliced the camera off the wall harness, cutting the power line in the process.

"It's about time!" Han shouted as soon as the camera was out of commission.

Two of the cells were empty. Chewie looked at her like he was stoned. Luke and Leia were out cold. Kess scrambled into the room and went to the Captain's cell first. "Lieutenant Lendra, reporting for duty, sir."

She sliced off two pieces of the iron bars, carefully laid them on the floor to prevent too much noise and climbed into the cell with him. Han pulled his wrists down for her to cut the chain and then pulled his wrists apart for her to separate the metal bracelets. He stepped back, "What happened?"

Kess cut his ankles free as she spoke. "Well, the Imperials think I'm this Usak thing. Some thief dressed up like me to rob us blind. The Imperials thought it was me and raided the suite." She climbed out of Han's cell and proceeded to cut Chewie loose from his stall. Chewie looked at her with mean eyes and hooted a question.

"Yeah," Han tore the broken metal from his wrists and pulled himself from his cell. "Where were you?"

Kess stepped back and let Chewie climb out. "I was out drinkin'." She went to Luke's stall and gulped hard. He was still in his pajamas, still barefoot, and still unconscious. She could barely detect his Force print. "Is he alive?"

"It doesn't matter," Han grumbled at her. "Everyone's going home."

Kess cut out a large section so that Chewie could climb in and catch Luke when he fell. Chewie carefully draped the Jedi Knight over his non-bloody shoulder, and ducked out of the cell. Kess put a hand on Luke's cheek to check his temperature. He was alive. Comatose, but alive.

"C'mon," Han snapped.

Kess and Han cut Leia out of her cell. Han gently put his wife over his shoulder and turned to Kess for the next step in her plan, "Now what?"

Kess turned to the door, rubbing her tired shoulders, "Now, we go meet our ride."

* * *

Shuley studied Skywalker's lightsaber hilt in her hand and leaned her back against the wall next to the powered-down Rebel droids. Outside the window of the lobby, the bright sunshine reflected off the mirrored windows of the towering building next door. Shuley wanted nothing more than to lay out on the beach with a good book that had nothing to do with war.

Levilot stood in front of the security desk, leaning his elbows on the high countertop and Daitahn had relieved the duty security guard to monitor for when Admiral Cheenan was on his way back.

The office was quiet. All three relaxed a little when Cheenan left the precinct and by now was on the Star Destroyer. But that fact entered a new worry. The Admiral, who so ruthlessly murdered every messenger bringing news of failure, was now at the controls of a firepower intense enough to obliterate this very 60-story building with a single shot.

Shuley let her hand fall to her side, "Governor?"

Levilot wiped his eyes. "She's still on the planet. She's either trying to find a way off, or trying to find a way to get them out." He motioned to the monitor screen where they could watch the New Alliance politicians still hanging from their shackles.

Daitahn muttered, "My guess is the latter."

Levilot motioned to the screen showing no activity in the cell block. "Except that no—

The screen went blank.

Levilot and Daitahn both looked at it. Daitahn scooted up in the chair to check the settings. Shuley stepped around to see too. "What happened?" But they didn't need to answer aloud.

The Usak was about to break her friends out of jail.

Levilot cringed at the fireworks about to take place. His assistants looked to him, eager for orders.

Levilot made a quick decision. "Shuley, get to the roof and power up the hopper. Daitahn, take the lightsaber and the droids to the holding area," he looked his Vice Governor hard in the eye, "and _give them back_. As soon as you're done, get to the roof. I'll be right behind you. I'm going to send a communiqué to Cheenan and give him all the spy codes we have in the New Alliance. Hopefully, that will distract him long enough so they can get out. With any luck, this gesture will salvage our treaty and save Sultani at the same time. Go."

All three bodies started moving.

* * *

As soon as Lando flipped on the _Falcon's_ power, the high whine shook the bum out of his cover. The man stood his full height, flinging the rags from his clean brown slacks and tunic, and brought an Imperial commlink to his lips. Already helpless except to report the incident, the man watched the _Falcon_ rise out of the docking bay with its ramp still down, and fire up the propulsion systems to disappear around the building.

Hoppers were already scrambling on the horizon when Lando nearly crash-landed the _Falcon_ on the beach. The ship rested on a sand dune at an angle. He aimed the open ramp toward Zoiy and her pile of stuff.

"Hurry up. They're coming!" he yelled.

In a frantic panic, Zoiy slid the hull panel onto the deck and returned to grab two bags as a time and toss them aboard. She heaved the heavy bags into the dark ship with all her might. With the last load, she ran headlong up the ramp, rounded the corner, and sat in the passageway to grab a hold of the bulkhead. "Go! Go! Go!" The ship lifted again, Zoiy started pulling the bags away from the open ramp and dropped them into an open smugglers cargo hold where they would stay out of the way for now.

Lando counted four hoppers and fired the forward guns as he lifted the ship into the air. The aerodynamic ships fired green bolts into the hull, shuddering and shaking the ship as it turned around. The hoppers didn't have the immense power of the space vessel, but in the atmosphere, the _Falcon_ was clumsy at best. Four more hoppers came out of nowhere and battered the _Falcon_ with green bolts.

The _Falcon_ sped around the towering buildings with hoppers chasing her like angry gnats. Speeders and pedestrians swarmed into the streets below to watch the excitement but were taking cover under awnings and around corners.

Lando raced between buildings down the street. Small green bolts shattered glass walls as he flew passed them. He fired the rear gun at the nearest pursuer. A hopper splintered in the air and crashed into the crowded streets below.

He reached the building in seconds and slammed in the dampers. The _Falcon_ came to a screeching halt in the air. A hopper rear ended him and crunched like a bug, falling dead onto the street of speeders thirty stories below. Lando rotated the ship to face one building and littered the wall with blast shots. Panes of glass shattered and giant shards fell to the city street.


	42. LL1 41 Who is Flying My Ship?

** LL1       41        Who is Flying My Ship? **

Kess carried her ignited lightsaber in one hand and pulled Lando's blaster out of the back of her pants with the other. Han snatched the blaster from her and motioned for her to open the door. She sliced off the locking mechanism and, when Han nodded, pulled the thick door aside.

With his wife still draped over one shoulder, he shot his arm and head out of the room and checked up and down the hall. No one was there.

"No stormtroopers to guard a holding area?" Han whispered pessimistically as Kess and Chewie joined him in the hallway.

Kess led the way, recognizing the map of the building Zoiy had drawn for them and turned the next corner.

ZAPT! A shot scalded the wall next to her. She ducked and retreated around the corner where Han and Chewie shook their heads at her like she was an idiot.

Kess stepped out of the way so Han and his blaster could clear the hall. He reached a single arm around the corner and fired three times without looking. As soon as the echo of his shots faded, they could distinctly hear the crumbling thump of stormtrooper armor.

Han smirked.

Kess grunted, "Show off."

"C'mon." Han led the way and the team hustled to a crossroads in the hallway.

Kess paused at the corner and silently motioned to the others that they would need to go straight. Using her saber blade as a decoy, she waved it once in the air passed the break in the wall to see if anyone would shoot at it. A dozen blast shots tattered the walls to the right and, by the sound of the mechanical shouts, the garrison was not far down the hall.

They flattened against the wall and, as the sputtering shots faded, Han adjusted his grip and performed the same blind shooting again. The shots held back the troopers long enough for Chewie and Kess to race across the hall break. Han side-stepped and kept shooting over and over, barely making it across the hall before the blaster shower resumed. "They're gonna be right behind us," Han warned to get the others moving forward.

But Kess and Chewie had stopped for a reason. Vice Governor Daitahn walked stiffly to them with Artoo and Threepio at his heels. With serious eyes, he looked at Solo and then at Kess. Without a word, he raised his hand and gave Kess the hilt of Skywalker's lightsaber.

Dumbfounded, Kess took it.

Han gave the man a scolding glare as he trotted passed them all, "C'mon! We've got to go!"

Leaving the Vice Governor in the hallway, they skipped to a full run towards the outer wall of the building. Threepio and Artoo did an about face and followed them as fast as their legs and wheels could carry them.

Kess ran after the rest, glancing back at the curious man and wondering why Han didn't stop to say anything to him. She could hear Daitahn yelling behind her, "Hold your fire. Hold you fire. I'm the Vice Governor of this syst—

ZAPT!

Daitahn's voice went silent.

Han skidded to a stop when the hall walls peeled away into a T-shaped lobby area, bordered by a wall of window. Outside, green bolts flew every which way, shattering glass panes of buildings all over. Hoppers with turquoise Frakkan markings swarmed the street. Han took cover behind the curving wall and was soon joined by Chewie. He adjusted his grip on his wife hanging from his shoulder.

Kess tore around the corner behind the droids and took cover on the other side. "Get down," she yelled. She crouched to the floor and ignored the blast shots coming from the hall. She urged Han and Chewie over the noise. "Down! Get Down!"

Han ducked but kept his blaster ready for the close onslaught of stormtroopers about to pour out of the hallway. Loud blast shots pounded overhead, followed by the crunch of collapsing walls above the ceiling.

Kess looked up, confused. The windows were still intact but, outside, giant shards of glass fell from above.

A red bolt shot from the hall at an angle. Kess scrambled to her feet. She knew nothing about blocking blast shots, but she wasn't about to get killed so close to getting out. Her eyes flared with acted anger and she ran straight at the stormtroopers with a lightsaber out like a jousting stick.

Most of the troopers retreated behind the hall break. The ones that didn't were so startled at her that their shots missed her entirely and sunk black spots into the wall.

Kess instantly backed up and took cover again, elated that her completely stupid maneuver bought them another thirty seconds. She looked out the giant window and yelled into the commlink, "The _other_ thirty-fifth floor! The next floor _down_!"

The _Millennium Falcon_ lowered into view and hovered outside their floor like and angry bird. Everyone flattened, even the troopers. Giant bolts of red lightning shattered the wall of glass and sank into the plaster walls inside, taking out chunks of drywall and pieces of security desk. The next series of shots mowed down stormtroopers in the hallway.

As soon as the glass barrier was cleared, the ship turned to angle the open ramp to hover near the gaping hole in the building. Zoiy stood inside the open hatch, holding on to the bulkhead for dear life, and positioned with a secured tether.

Han picked up a blaster from a dead trooper and started shooting as he ran backwards to the broken glass wall.

Chewie tightened his grip on Luke's legs and ran, jumping across the gap to the open ramp, but the ramp was moving unsteadily in the air. Chewie fell flat on his stomach on the ramp. His ankles dangled in the air with Luke's legs pinned underneath him. The redhead reached down and grabbed his fur with both hands, handing him a second rope so he could pull himself up. Chewie steadied himself and managed to scramble aboard with Luke still on his shoulder.

Another shot zinged past Kess' head. She turned and slashed her lightsaber fruitlessly. Han confidently aimed his blast with one hand and fired once. The last stormtrooper on the floor fell to the ground.

Outside, a dozen hoppers swarmed around the _Falcon_. The ship jerked at every hit. Its hull was getting peppered with point blank shots.

Then, as if the _Falcon_ received a second wind, the lower gun turret came to life. The lower turret fired multiple shots at a hopper and the enemy vessel exploded in the air. The _Falcon_ regained her balance and adjusted to hover closer to the building.

"Go!" Kess yelled.

Han grabbed the dangling rope as Zoiy swung it to him. He held a hard grip on Leia's thighs and ran to jump on board, swinging with one hand. Zoiy reached out and grabbed his belt to keep him close so he could find his feet. Han and Zoiy worked together to bring him and Leia safely aboard. The _Falcon_ rocked and drifted in the fight as they went.

Kess turned to the droids and noted how far away the ramp was. "Closer, Lando!"

Threepio whined in fear as Kess pushed him to the edge of the battered floor of the building. The droid couldn't swing on the rope like humans, so Kess tied the rope around his waist so that he wouldn't fall to the street if he missed the jump. Threepio complained, "I'm not designed for this!"

"Would you rather stay here?" Kess scolded him, working frantically at the rope.

The ship steadied next to the building, hovering less than a metre from the open floor. Threepio waddled and jumped in mechanical clumsiness. Zoiy pulled on the rope and grabbed the droid's arm to bring Threepio to a controlled crash onto the ramp, but at least he was on the ramp. Through Zoiy's shouting orders, the _Falcon_ stopped trying to hover next to the building for a moment and worked to defend itself from the attacking hoppers. Meanwhile, Zoiy and Threepio struggled to get the droid secured.

A hopper fell on top of the ship, blowing itself to pieces and tilting the _Falcon_ to an angle. In an effort to recover, the side of the ship crashed into the building, sending the open ramp over the crumbling floor and ripping carpet from the lobby. Then, as Lando adjusted again, the _Falcon_ crashed down into the story below. Artoo rolled off the splintered floor just as the ramp came back up to meet his wheels. Whistling with excitement, the droid skidded onto the ship as if he'd planned the whole thing.

Kess blinked at Artoo's brave maneuver. She switched off her lightsaber and hooked it onto her belt next to Luke's. Zoiy threw her the rope and Kess grabbed it just as the Falcon began to drift away again. Before the ship rocked out of reach, Kess jumped for the ramp, glancing at the 35 story drop as she leapt passed the gap. She landed clumsily on the ramp and Zoiy instantly grabbed her arm. Kess pulled herself in by the rope and shared a smile of relief with Zoiy as soon as she was steady.

As the ramp began to enclose everyone into the ship, Kess and Zoiy parted. Zoiy raced to Han and took over the task of securing Leia in a bunk with belts. Once assured Zoiy had a handle on it, Han ran around the corridor and climbed the ladder to the upper gun turret.

Kess raced around to Luke's bunk to find him crumpled limply in his bunk, held only by a strap across his waist. The ship rocked as the battle raged. She pulled his legs out and dug out more belts to tie him in at the shoulders and knees.

As soon as she had him secured, Kess grabbed the fabric of his pajama shirt and shook him. "Wake up! Please, wake up!"

Luke's head just wobbled against the bunk like he was dead.

In the upper turret, Han fired with one hand as he slapped the headset on his ear with the other. Now, with all three guns manned, Han gritted his teeth, "Who's flyin' my ship?"

"How you doin' partner?" Lando's voice crooned back.

Han breathed a smile, "Lando?"

The ship rose out the towering buildings. "I figured I owed you a favor!"

Chewie hooted through the comm.

Lando swung the ship around and hit the accelerator, poking the ship up into the air out of the nest of skyscrapers. The _Falcon_ sailed into the sky but dipped down 90 degrees the moment it cleared the top of the city. They fled horizontally out over the ocean with several Frakkan hoppers following deftly. Chewie and Han plowed their chasers with fire behind the ship, taking down three if them in a row, but more joining the chase faster than Han and Chewie could take them out.

The _Falcon_ burned hard along the top of the ocean with a dozen hoppers zipping along behind them, until a giant green lighting bolt shot vertically down from space and sizzled a spot of water between the _Falcon_ and the hoppers.

The hoppers scrambled not to fly into the laser bolt, but it was already gone by the time they caught up. Lando's eyes shot to the window above them. Chewie yelled into the mike. Han stared at where the bolt had been and how large it was. He muttered under his breath, "Star Destroyers."

Lando shouted back, "We can't go into space anyway! We've got a hull breach!"

Han closed his eyes and hit his forehead on the tracking box in front of him.

Another bolt came down from space in front of them.

Lando jerked to avoid it and the move allowed the hoppers to catch up. The smaller ships began firing at them from behind.

"Get ready to roll!" Lando boomed.

Kess heard the yell through the corridor and, in a panic, grabbed Luke's belts with both hands. Clumsily, she pulled herself on top of him only so she could use the bunk as a containment for herself. Besides, his straps were the most secure thing in reach onto which she could grip in preparation for what came next.

The ship lurched from a bad hit. The _Falcon_ went spinning wildly downward.

Han's scream of panic was audible throughout the ship as the _Falcon_ crashed and stumbled into the ocean and sank.

Hoppers slowed and hovered over the spot with indecision.

A few seconds later, an explosion disrupted the water below, sending large bubbles of fire to the churning surface.

 


	43. LL1 42 Sinking

** LL1       42        Sinking **

The explosion of the detonator Lando had released sent a wave of pressure against the hull and knocked the airtight integrity off balance. Han's gun turret sprang a leak and was instantly closed with lime green autofoam. He ripped the headset from his ear and yelled as he scrambled out of his seat, "This is a spacecraft! Not a submarine!"

Kess pulled her body from Luke's and stumbled through the main bay on the rocking deck. Finding Han on the way, they barely exchanged glances and moved clumsily together toward the cockpit. Lando sat in the pilot's chair; his mouth agape at the sight. Kess and Han, and then Chewie, stood dumbfounded in the cockpit, staring out the window, and watched tiny bubbles rise as the ship sank fathoms into the ocean.

Han whined, "You sank my ship!"

Lando turned to him. "It was the only way we could get cover for the hull repair. It'll take them hours to get a sub vessel out to us."

Han went to the window and stared out at the light shining down through the soupy blue water. "We're sinking!"

A loud groan echoed through the walls. Everyone stopped to listen. The current rocked the ship and the _Falcon_ kept falling slowly downward.

Kess looked around the room, imagining the pressure of the ocean and realized that the ship was designed for the pressure to be pulling _outward_.

She whispered morbidly, "We're gonna be crushed like a tin can."

Chewie hooted pessimistically.

"No!" Han shouted, "she can handle space, and she can handle the water." On cue, the ship shuddered, tilting several degrees off center. A loud crack sounded from the cargo bay.

All four bodies raced into the bay and stopped at the autofoam of another hull split. High-pressure water shot onto the deck like a mining drill. Han ripped open the storage locker and armed himself with a portable canister. He aimed the nozzle and shot autofoam into the crack. The lime green foam went solid in milliseconds after it hit the air, sealing the crack with large chunks. Rock-like foam rattled down on the wet deck like a hail storm, but the water stopped coming in.

Lando moved around the edge, splashing his feet in the water and disappeared around the port corridor. Zoiy had successfully strapped in Leia, but must have lost her grip for the wild tumble into the ocean. Across the back of her head was an ugly gash where she'd knocked around the passageway like a loose marble. Lando lifted her body and proceeded to tie her down in the nearest empty bunk.

Chewie was growling wildly at Threepio who refused to remove himself from the straps at the game table. "I can't balance on an unstable surface. It's best if Artoo and I remained strapped in until the ship settles on the ocean floor."

Kess pulled the sheet metal from the deck and dragged it to the access tube for the upper hatch. "Shut the droids down so they don't short out in this water. It's gonna get worse."

Han lowered the foam nozzle, "What are you doing?"

Kess pulled out an enviro-suit from the closet. "I'm going to repair that hull breach."

Han motioned to argue, but the hull groaned loudly again. For some unseen reason, the port side of the ship began sinking faster than the starboard side, sending the deck rapidly to a fifteen-degree angle. Both Han and Chewie slipped in the water and fell on their rear ends. Kess held on to the locker hatch and hung as her feet slid out from under her. Then the ship jerked to a stop, shuddering as it crunched rocks below and nestled to a stop.

Kess pulled her feet under her again and immediately started donning the enviro-suit. "Hook me up with a lifeline."

Han scrambled to her. "What do you need a lifeline for? It's water. You can paddle back."

"I don't know how to paddle."

Lando came up behind, "Let one of us go."

"No. You guys are too important to lose and it's my job anyway." She locked the bubble hood down on her head. "You make sure this boat can still fly."

The hatch slid around her, shutting off the tiny closet from the rest of the airtight ship. She glanced once in the small rectangular window to makes sure Han and Lando backed up, and shoved hard on the manual release. The hatch slid aside, pounding her with water. The air from the ship rose in two giant bubbles and Kess began to float.

Determined, she rose up clumsily up the ladder and pulled herself out of the ship. The water was a thick blue in these depths, visibility at less than two metres. The enviro-suit bubbled up in her arms and under her belt. She checked the lifeline, took a careful step, and bobbed.

Strangely, the gravity seemed much lighter down here. Feeling only half her weight, she took another light step. The current pushed her slowly forward but not so much that she couldn't compensate her balance.

Gaining confidence, she bobbed forward with springy steps. Kess giggled at her sluggish movements and added sound effects to her light walk, "Sproing. Sproing. Sproing."

Reaching the open the hull panel, she stopped and dropped the sheet metal. She pulled her legs out from under her simultaneously and fell slowly to her knees. "They gotta make a drug that does this."

Han's voice crackled over the intercom, "Shut up and just fix the hull."

Kess bent over to the gaping hole, "Sorry, I didn't know I was on the air."

Inside, Han wiped his brow with weary fingers. "I'm going to pay some medical attention to our wounded. Chewie, check the integrity readings and see if that the only hole in our walls."

Chewie grumbled weakly.

Lando looked. "Han, I think we should lay him down and give him some medical attention too."

Chewie looked up tired and growled an agreement.

Lando patted the furry shoulder for Chewie to go. "I'll check the integrity readings."

Han grabbed a med kit and followed Chewie down the starboard corridor. He checked on Leia as Chewie went to lay down. She had no obvious wounds except for the clotted prick on her neck. Han didn't know what to do except check her belts and try to make her comfortable.

Chewie was already half-strapped and half-asleep when Han reached him. The Wookiee had a knot on the back of his head the size of an asteroid and dried blood crusted a large patch of his fur. Han gave him an ice pack and painkiller and affectionately scrubbed the fur on his undamaged arm. "Get some sleep, pal. I'll get us home."

Zoiy lay unconscious in Kess' bunk, the blood smeared fresh on the pillow. He gently rested her head in the ice pack and checked her straps. He had one ice pack left and, knowing that Luke was in the same near undamaged condition as Leia, put it on his own head as he approached Luke's bunk.

He leaned his shoulder against the bulkhead next to Luke and looked down at the sleeping kid. He checked for a pulse with a single finger; it was good. He was breathing too.

"You trained her good, kid," Han muttered as he checked the straps. "Too bad you weren't awake to see it."

 

 


	44. LL1 43 Fish

** LL1       43        Fish **

A large object floated into Kess' view. She paid it no mind and kept working until she noticed the object was floating towards her, _against_ the current.

She froze and looked only with her eyes. A floating animal with tiny fluttery wings for arms and legs moved through the water as easily as if it were walking around. It was only a few centimetres wide, but the oval-shaped body was more than two metres tall. Shiny scales reflected the light in brilliant turquoises and blues with a wild, fluorescent, orange stripe waving across its middle. Lid-less yellow eyes stared at her with shock and curiosity. Pouting lips formed a rubbery mouth in a deep frown.

Kess stared at the creature, but her hands kept working. The _kazap_ of each spot weld was probably what attracted the animal to the scene. It floated slowly towards her and paused a metre away. Its body barely wriggled to move alongside. It moved itself around so that its wide, unblinking eye could watch her work on the hull.

 _Kazap!_ The hull was done and Kess slowly stood. Careful not to spook the animal, she readied to move back towards the upper access tube. When she came to full height, the fish backed up a notch. Kess started walking slowly backwards, cautious, but admiring the colorful designs of its scales as she left.

Its mouth moved, letting a tiny bubble emerge from its lips, but the lips parted further and unsheathed four, long, fat, white teeth. Its lower jaw bent down more than a ninety-degree angle, and the teeth kept coming. Two on the top and two on the bottom, until the sharp tusks parted at a terrifying half-metre in length each.

Kess scrambled backwards. Curious eyes now looked hungry. The fish whipped its tail and came at her with amazing speed through the water. Those huge teeth clanged against the tiny opening of the shaft just as Kess fell backwards into it and screamed.

Han called over the mike. "Kess? What's the matter?"

 _Bang!_ The fish stabbed its face against the shaft, confused why the metal wouldn't give under his attack.

"There's a big fish out here!" She pushed the control to close the hatch. The fish banged its head on the sudden solid hatch.

The closet hatch slid aside, pouring gallons of water into the cargo bay. Kess poured out with it and fell onto the deck.

Han spread his palms at her like she was nuts, "Of course there's fish out there!" he yelled. "It's an _ocean_!"

Kess stood up and pulled off the bubble helmet. "No. It's a _big_ fish." She held her hands up as high as she could reach it, "with big teeth," she held her hands out to demonstrate the long tusks, "and a big appetite." She held her hands out to her sides again as far as she could reach them.

 _Clang_!  

She pointed behind her, "See?"

Han looked at the ceiling and imagined some fish thinking his ship was lunch. "Well, let's get out of here. Is the hull done?"

"Yes, sir!" Kess followed the Captain into the cockpit and strapped in, still in her wet enviro-suit.

With Lando in the co-pilot's seat and Han at the helm, arms sped across the console and, system by system, the _Falcon_ hummed to life.

* * *

On the surface, a haze gray ship bobbed in the water, accompanied by a hydrofoil and several smaller vessels. Sailors swarmed the decks as the ship was preparing to lower a submarine probe into the fathoms below.

The water in the center of the group began to churn, but before all the personnel on deck even had a chance to turn completely around, the massive disc of the _Falcon_ went ballistic out of the water like the ocean was spitting out a nasty morsel.

The _Falcon_ spun on its axis and punched through the ozone layer. A single Star Destroyer floated in orbit not far away, but before it could even arm its guns, the _Falcon_ adjusted its vector, aimed its nose to a distant star, and disappeared into streaks as it went into hyperspace.

* * *

Kess shed the soaking wet enviro-suit and was back in the same civilian clothes she'd been wearing all night and all day yesterday. She was smudged from repairing the _Falcon's_ fuse box, speckled with sand from chasing mugrats on the beach, stained with a dribble of blue alcohol, caked with dust from an elevator shaft, and salty wet from the splashes of ocean that seeped in while she fled from a giant, meat-eating fish.

She shuffled in her boots, pulling her dirty hair from her braids and let the knots hang how they pleased down her back. Her thighs and shoulders were sore from the climb, her feet hurt, she was hungry, and she realized that she had totally skipped the drunk part when the hangover kicked in.

Her shoulder dropped against the bulkhead where she stopped to look at Luke still strapped in his bunk, still in his pajamas, still comatose. She thought heavily about the events over the last 24 hours and fell to her knees in the passageway. She propped her elbow on the bunk next to his ankles and dug her fingers into her bangs, "I am so sorry."

"'Sorry' isn't going to get you out of this one," Han warned from behind. He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned his back against the opposite bulkhead. "You wanna tell me why the Frakkan government wants your head bad enough to put my wife and your Jedi Master into a drug-induced coma?"

Kess didn't look at him. She closed her eyes and sighed with panic, "I swear I don't know."

" _Bullshit_ ," Han hissed.

She turned to him without peeling her tired body off the ground, "I didn't know I was the Usak until after you guys were already captured!"

Han inhaled like he was going to rip her throat out-

But Lando stopped him, "She's telling the truth. _I'm_ the one that pointed that out to her."

Han looked over.

Lando shrugged defensively. "She may have had something to do with it, I won't deny that, but she _didn't_ know she was the Usak."

Kess waved an arm at the two of them, "If I were so evil, don't you think it wouldn't have shown up in my security check?"

Han dropped his arms and yelled, "You didn't go through a security check! That's what alerted us that this trip of yours was staged!"

"You're the one that asked for an engineer!"

"That was only so I could win a fight with my wife!" Han shouted back. "I didn't care who it was!"

Kess sneered at Han, then stopped short, glancing at the comatose Jedi Master in the bunk, "Wait—

She pointed at Luke sheepishly, then paused, "I _had_ to go through a security check. That's how Luke knew my…" Her words faded in realization just as Lando's voice pointed out the facts to her again.

"The Jedi Knight is not above lying, Kess."

Kess caught her breath and put her hand over her mouth. _Luke Skywalker lied?_ All this time, she took Luke's every word and comment as the unarguable truth, latched to him like her only friend through the entire repair-in-air, undercover, in Imperial Territory, for treaty negotiations over the Usak…

_What else did he lie about?_

Kess realized just where she stood with Luke, the closest thing she had to a friend on this trip, and her stomach started to sink. She didn't care what Han thought about her anymore, and she was only vaguely worried about the trouble she was going to face when she got home.

What she fretted about was Luke. Was he going to be all right? What did he think about her now? What was he going to do about her being the Usak? What kind of punishment would he come up with over Kess using a real lightsaber without his approval? What further punishment still awaited her for kissing him?

What made it worse was that she had to wait and fester and worry before she would know any of those answers because he was comatose for an unknown amount of time.

 _Please be okay. Please live. Please don't be hurt_. Kess slumped to sit on her butt in the corridor under Luke's bunk and hid her face in her hands. _Please be okay._   

Han watched her, full of disappointment and mistrust, and turned his back to her.

Lando watched her too, now lifting his eyes to meet Han's, and turned his back too, both of them stepping out of the corridor together.

Emotionally drained and physically exhausted, Kess crumbled into a pile tears and worry.

* * *

 

**End Book 1 **


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